


Lottery

by sunshineoptimismandangels



Series: Lottery Verse [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-03-30 13:23:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 93,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3938398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineoptimismandangels/pseuds/sunshineoptimismandangels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When it is the Government that chooses your Lifemate, the person you have to spend the rest or you life with, by drawing names from a national lottery there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Kurt however, has always dreamed about the day he'd met and hopefully fall in love with his Lifemate and when the government pairs Kurt with Cooper Anderson a handsome and charismatic older man Kurt can't wait to start their life together.<br/>Of course Kurt never dreamed that maybe his Lifemate wouldn't be right for him, or that he'd have a charming younger brother named Blaine who is everything Kurt has ever wanted. What do you do when the Government pairs you with the wrong Anderson brother?<br/>(Klaine centric romance with some Kurt/Cooper and Blaine/Sebastian)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One: I

Kurt was in his room carefully tagging all of possessions with post-it notes. Pink meant it was going with him. Yellow meant he was still deciding. Blue meant it stayed behind. It was still a couple of months before he left for New York, starting college in the greatest city on earth would be like getting a fresh start and it was all he could really think about. He was so consumed with planning and dreams of New York Kurt didn't even pay attention when Finn came home, slamming the front door behind him and stomping into the house. Finn was always loud.

"Kurt!" Finn yelled up the stairs, and Kurt rolled his eyes. Why couldn't he just come up here instead of yelling through the house?

"Kurt, come downstairs quick!" Kurt was about to snap at him, but Finn's voice sounded... off. Sure he was often boisterous, but right now he sounded tense as well, a slight edge to his voice. Maybe something was wrong.

Kurt left his room and walked down the stairs to find Finn pacing the kitchen.

"What's happening?" Kurt asked when he saw Finn's face, brows down with worry. "What's wrong?"

In answer, Finn held up a bright blue envelope, "This came in the mail.

Kurt’s breath caught in his throat, "Oh _god_." Kurt said, staring at the envelope. "You… you got your Lifemate letter?"

Kurt swallowed deeply; Finn was dating Rachel, at least until she left for New York. They knew their relationship couldn't last, but Kurt had never thought that Finn’s letter would come so soon and that would be how their turbulent relationship ended.

"No." Finn shook his head and handed the letter to Kurt. "It’s not mine."

Kurt stood still for a moment, holding his breath as the words sunk in. If it wasn’t Finn’s… there was only one other person in this house if could be addressed too. He slowly reached out for the letter as if it was a timid animal that would be scared away if he moved too fast. He held it in his hands for a moment before backing up and sliding down into a chair at the kitchen table.

He just looked at the bright blue of the envelope for a long time, thoughts swirling. He ran his fingertip over the top of the envelope and down the side, feeling the edges of the paper. His fingers smoothed over the front, touching the raised bumps of the embossed Lifemate Lottery seal. This was it, this was the letter that would forever change his life, and he couldn't make himself open it.

This morning when he woke up, his mind was full of New York, NAYDA – the preforming arts school he’d been accepted too, his packing list and how to broach the idea of a roommate contract with Rachel. Now, none of that mattered. He wouldn't be going to New York City – not this year at least.

Unless you are under eighteen years of age, once you receive your Lifemate letter you have a month to marry and for the first year of your brand new marriage you and your Lifemate aren't allowed to move. You stay in the area in which you both live. It's a rule set up to encouraging bonding and to limit the big life changes you go through at one time.

It meant Kurt would be in Ohio for at least another year.

It wasn't that he minded getting his letter, unlike many people Kurt had been looking forward to this since childhood. He had more faith in the system than most did. He'd seen it work, twice.

Before Kurt had been born, Burt Hummel and Elizabeth Savoy were paired by the government as Lifemates. His mom and dad started as friends, but then grew to love each other deeply. Not long after their marriage, little Kurt came along.

Their happily ever after didn't last long enough, though; when Kurt was only eight, his mom passed away from cancer. Burt's name was submitted back into the Lifemate Lottery, but those going in a second time didn't often get chosen.

It worked like this: Your name was entered at the age of seventeen, but was most likely to be drawn between the ages of 19 and 24 because your name would be in the lottery multiple times in that age range. After 30, if your name had never been called, it probably never would be because it was only left in once.

People whose name was in the lottery for a second time got a handful of entries, more than the singles over 30, because many of the second timers had kids, and the government wanted them to have a chance of a rematch, but far less entries than the 19 - 24 age range.

When Kurt was 16, his dad beat the odds and was paired again with a widow named Carol Hudson. Carol and her son Finn, who Kurt knew from school, moved in to the Hummel residence and they quickly became a family.

Kurt watched as Burt and Carol hit it off as friends right away and wasn't really surprised when he came downstairs one day a few months after they'd been married to find them making-out in the kitchen. Mortified, scarred for life, but not surprised.

So while many around him doubted the system, Kurt secretly couldn't wait to be paired, to find the kind of love he's seen his father find. There weren't many out and proud gay teenagers in Lima, Ohio and for Kurt the Lottery meant that despite the prejudices that still lingered, he had the chance to find someone to _love_. Someone who could love him in return.

The only hang-up about getting his letter now was that he was meant to leave for New York in a couple of months with his best friend Rachel Berry. He had hoped he'd be matched a few years after moving, marry some New Yorker and live their perfect life together.

The timing was definitely off, and Kurt was disappointed about NAYDA, but mostly he couldn't help the excited butterflies in his stomach at the thought of holding his Lifemate's name in his hand.

Finn walked up to him and kicked his boot lightly to get his attention. "Uh… Kurt?"

Kurt broke out of his reverie. "Don't scuff my boot." He said not looking up from the letter.

"Are you going to open it?"

"Of course I am." Kurt said looking a little pale and still not moving.

Finn sat down at the table across from him, they sat in silence for a moment. Kurt didn't open the envelope.

"Worried about what it will say?" Finn asked.

There was always a chance that just the name of the person could shatter all of Kurt's hopes and dreams. Same sex pairings had been illegal until the 1980s when the government finally started to let people's names be matched with any gender. When you registered at 17 you could mark your preference, but that didn't grantee a match with your preference.

The only other out person Kurt had known in High School was Santana Lopez. She was matched early at only 17 years old, meaning she got to wait a year to get married. It didn't matter though because despite marking a preference for females, she was matched with Mark McDaniels of Dayton, Ohio.

It had come as a sharp blow, not only to Santana, but all of her friends as well. It had shook Kurt to the core – he had always counted on falling in love with his Lifemate and Though he might grow to love a female he was matched with, he knew he could never love her the way he wanted.

It was one of the reasons he kept running his fingers over the letter instead of opening it.

"I mean I get why you're worried." Finn said. "It could be a girl, but it might not be.  
  
Kurt nodded. "It might not be."

"It could be some old, creepy guy or something.’  
  
Kurt's eyes shot up from the letter to glare at Finn. "Are you trying to make me more nervous?  
  
"What? No! It was a joke. I'm trying to lighten the mood."  
  
"It isn't working.”  
  
"I could open it for you." Finn offered.  
  
Kurt held the letter up to the light as if that would give him a glimpse of what was inside and sighed. "I'm going to wait for dad to get home. I'll open it then.”  
  
Finn nodded and got up from the table and Kurt assumed that he would go upstairs and play video games or something, but instead he grabbed a bowl and poured himself some cereal before sitting back at the table with Kurt.  
  
"Dinner is in an hour or so." Kurt said.  
  
Finn nodded and spoke through a mouth full of frosted flakes "'hank 'oodness."  
  
Kurt smiled a little and shook his head, he wouldn't say it out loud, but he was glad that Finn was waiting with him, he was so nervous he thought he'd vibrate out of his skin if left alone.  
  
Kurt fan his fingers over the corners of the envelope until it started looking a bit warn before he finally heard his dad's truck pull up and a door shut. His dad walked in the house and Kurt listened as he kicked off his shoes at the front door.  
  
"Dad!" Kurt called from the kitchen and Burt made his way in.  
  
"Hey guys." He said. "What you up to-" He stopped mid-sentence and looked at the bright blue envelope in Kurt's hands.  
  
"Is that..."  
  
Kurt held it up for his dad to see. "It's my Lifemate letter."  
  
Burt slumped down in the chair next to Kurt looking stunned. "But you're only 19."  
  
Kurt shrugged. "That's pretty common."  
  
Burt glanced at the letter and back to Kurt's face trying to read him; he then rubbed a hand down his face.  
  
"NYADA." Was all Burt said.  
  
Kurt shrugged again trying to pretend it wasn't a big deal, and then pushed back the tears that threatened his voice. "It's okay. I can delay NYADA."  
  
"Rachel is going to have a meltdown." Finn added.  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes. "She'll get over it." He looked back down at the letter and took a deep breath. "I guess I should open it. I was waiting for you.  
  
His dad reached over and put his hand over Kurt's. "Well, I'm here now."  
  
Kurt’s smiled knowing the promise in those words. His dad was telling him he was there for him not matter what happened. Kurt still didn't move.  
  
"It isn't like I don't want to know.” Kurt explained looking back and forth between his father and Finn, “It's the opposite, I want this to work _so much_ and… this is it Dad. I've been waiting since I was six and mom told me about how you two were paired… I just…" Kurt swiped his fingers under his eyes to catch his nervous tears before they fell.  
  
"Do you want me to open it bud?" His dad asked kindly, echoing Finn's earlier offer.  
  
"No." Kurt shook his head and took a deep breath, it was time. He unceremoniously tore the envelope open with shaking hands, like ripping off a band-aid, less painful if you did it quick.   
  
He pulled out the blue paper of the letter and started to read out loud.  
  
"Kurt Hummel. Congratulations your name has been drawn from the Lifemate Lottery."  
  
Kurt cleared his throat and continued reading.  
  
"Since you are of legal age, you have until August 10th, a month from the sending of this letter, to wed your intended Lifemate…"  
  
Kurt scanned the letter, skipping over all the legal jargon and mandates until he got to the part he wanted.  
  
"Your Lifemate has also received a letter. You have an appointment at 10:00am on July 14th at Lifemate Center #2871 to meet your chosen mate, Cooper Andrew Anderson, Lifemate number AC7H027 born 2/16/1983, currently residing in Westerville, Ohio."  
  
Kurt had to stop as his voice ran out. He blinked down at the letter. Cooper Anderson, Cooper Andrew Anderson was his Lifemate. Kurt closed his eyes and leaned his forehead into his hand. "Oh thank god, it's a guy.”  
  
He heard his dad grunt and Kurt opened his eyes to look over at him; he didn't seem happy.  
  
"Dad, it's a guy. This is good. It means there is a chance we could work out. We could be like you and mom or you and Carol."  
  
"1983?" His dad said in a gruff voice. "He's 10 years older than you Kurt.  
  
Kurt glanced back at the letter. Cooper Anderson of Westerville Ohio was ten years older than him. Kurt blushed a little and shook his head; he'd always had a little thing for older guys.  
  
"That's not so bad." Kurt said.  
  
His dad didn't look convinced.  
  
"Twenty-Nine years is a long time to be single." Burt said. "He probably hasn't been just… _waiting around_." His dad said significantly.  
  
Kurt bunched up his eyebrows, not understanding, and glanced over to Finn who seemed equally confused as he shrugged.  
  
"I mean this guy is probably experienced…" His dad continued. "Sexually."  
  
Kurt's face flushed crimson and Finn stood up from the table so fast his chair legs scrapped against the lanolin floor.  
  
"I'm going to go call mom and tell her what's happened." He said and all but ran from the room.  
  
"I think it's time we had the talk Kurt." Burt said, folding his hands on the tabletop.  
  
"Dad! No!" Kurt said horrified. "I know… how things… work." Kurt could feel his ears burning he was blushing so hard.  
  
His dad wouldn't be derailed though, and Kurt had to sit through one of the most embarrassing conversations of his life. He knew it was only because his dad cared, but still it was not enjoyable.   
  
"You'll be married, but that doesn't mean you have to do anything you don't want to do." Burt finished. "Don’t move faster than you are ready for. Just remember  _you matter Kurt_."

Kurt nodded glad it was over, he felt like melting into the chair with embarrassment, but at the same time, he was glad of the reminder. Not everyone waited for their Lifemate to have sex. Kurt had. More out of necessity than conviction, there hadn’t really been any temptations. His father was right Cooper had undoubtedly experience more that Kurt had, so the knowledge that Kurt didn’t have to rush into the side of a relationship right away was a comfort.   
  
Kurt got up from the table and gave his dad a big hug. “Thanks dad.”

Carol brought home take-out and a cake to celebrate and they had a big dinner as a family. Everyone seemed a little nervous, but pushed that aside. There was nothing that could be done about it now; it was set in stone, so they celebrated and enjoyed being a family together knowing that the day after tomorrow, Kurt would meet the man he'd spend the rest of his life with.

Later that night, Kurt called Rachel and gave her the news, and listened to her cry about how unfair it was that Kurt had to give up his dreams. Not to mention how unfair it was that she had to give up her dream of having him as her New York roommate. He didn't mention that having a Lifemate had also always been one of his dreams.   
  
Once he got off the phone with Rachel, he climbed in to bed feeling oddly tired. The day had been an emotional one. He picked his letter up from where he'd placed it on his nightstand and ran a finger over his Lifemate's name.

"Cooper Andrew Anderson." Kurt said aloud and then closed his eyes trying to picture what a Cooper Andrew Anderson would look like. He couldn't even imagine.

"Cooper." He whispered and then switched of his light, curling up under the covers and keeping his letter in his hand. He was disappointed about NYADA, but he couldn't help but be full of excitement as well. He was going to have a Lifemate, and _be_ someone's Lifemate. They would be a team that met whatever the world had to throw at them together. As soon as he met Cooper, everything was going to change and Kurt couldn't help finally drifting off to sleep with a little smile on his face.


	2. Part One: II

Cooper was in Los Angele. when his letter arrived. The unmistakable blue envelope sticking-out among bills, junk mail and magazines. Blaine picked it up and held it in his hands; it was small but felt so heavy.

At first, he'd hoped it would have his name on it and not Cooper's. Not because Blaine felt ready for a Lifemate, far from it, but because he knew that this letter would come as a harsh blow to his brother.

Cooper had turned 29 five months ago and the countdown had started. "Only 12 more months." "Only 10 more months. "Only 8 more months, Squirt!"

Once Cooper hit what he called "the golden age of 30," it meant he would probably never be chosen as a Lifemate. A prospect that most people would be afraid of, but to Cooper it sounded great. Blaine and Cooper's relatives had been sighing and shaking their heads for Cooper's sake for years. "Poor thing, to go so long without a mate. But don't give up Cooper, there could still be someone out there for you."

Cooper didn't want it though. His 30th Birthday was going to be a huge blowout celebration, to Cooper it meant _freedom_.

Blaine blinked at the blue envelope in his hands, the envelope that would mean the end of Cooper's hopes. If only it had Blaine's name on it. Blaine knew he'd be paired someday, and he hoped it would be a few years down the road because he felt young and naïve and he knew nothing about romance, still if it meant Cooper didn't have to, Blaine would get married right now.

It didn't matter though, it was Cooper's name on the envelope. He had to tell him. Blaine grabbed his phone and the letter and moved to the living room, sitting down on the sofa and dialing his brother's number. He closed his eyes as the phone rang, trying to work out what to say.  
  
"Hey Blaine!" His brother answered cheerfully. "You caught me on my way to the airport, I'll be home this evening."

Blaine was relieved to hear it. "I thought you wouldn't be home until tomorrow?"

"Nope, the audition was rescheduled. So I'll have to come back to L.A. later on." Cooper had moved back home to Ohio a few years ago when their parents had both been killed in a car accident. Blaine was only fourteen at the time and Cooper had dropped his dreams of acting to move back to Ohio in a heartbeat, there to take care of his little brother.

Cooper eventually got back to the grind; now that Blaine was older and could look after himself, Cooper made trips to L.A. all the time and Blaine knew that he was planning to move back to California once Blaine was in college. Blaine really wanted to go to school in New York, but he had also applied to some schools in California so he'd have the option of being closer to Cooper.

It seemed Cooper was on his way back home early though, which was a relief considering the news Blaine was about to break.

"That's good." Blaine said. "Because… um…" He wasn't sure how to tell him, he wondered if he should just wait until he got home before he gave him the bad news, but Cooper must have heard something in his voice.

"What's the matter Squirt? You okay?"

Blaine took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. " _A Lifemate Lottery letter came in the mail today_." He said so quickly he wondered if his brother caught it. There was silence on the other end.

"Blaine… no way."

"Cooper…"

"You're only 18! How is that fair?" Cooper sounded angry. "I mean you're still in High School for crying out loud! You haven't even had a chance to live yet!"

"Coop."

"I mean how dare they?" Cooper continued. "They can't do this; someone is going to hear about this." Blaine could almost picture him gesturing wildly to make his point.

"Cooper, please listen to me." Blaine said, hating himself for having to give him the bad news. "The letter… I wish it were for me, but Cooper, it's addressed to you."

Silence.

"Cooper?"

"Coop?" Blaine pulled his phone away from his ear to make sure they were still connected.

"Cooper, please say something, you're freaking me out."

"I have less than 8 months." Cooper said, his voice sounding dull. "220 days till freedom."

"Cooper I'm so sorry. Maybe you could… I don't know protest or…"

"There's no protesting the Lifemate Lottery." Cooper said. "You know that, Blaine. If I made a big fuss, I'd just end up in jail… married first and then thrown in jail."

"Cooper, I'm…"

"Don't say you're sorry again, Squirt. This isn't your fault. And I'm glad it isn't you. I've had my fun… I have. You still get to have your little slice of freedom."

"It isn't a death sentence." Blaine said. "Maybe it will be good; maybe you'll like each other. Maybe-"

"Blaine." His brother interrupted. "Would you open the letter? Find out when my appointment at the LMC is and give me my Lifemate's name? I'd like to at least know who she is." Cooper said, all business, which was so unlike Cooper that it made Blaine wince.

Blaine nodded even though his brother couldn't see him. Cooper was his only real family left; they had relatives scattered about, but since their parents’ deaths, Cooper and Blaine had been each other's support. He hated hearing him so defeated.

Blaine slid his finger underneath the seal and opened the letter, scanning it until he got to the information he needed. "10 in the morning on the 14th," Blaine said. "That's this Saturday. And your Lifemate's name is… Kurt Elizabeth Hummel."

There was silence on the other end again. "What the hell kind of name is that? Is she even a she?"

Blaine scanned the letter again. "His number is HK7J875." Blaine answered quietly knowing the number 7 after someone's initials always meant they were classified as male.

He heard Cooper sigh.

Blaine couldn't believe how terribly this was going. " _God Cooper_ , I'm sorry."

"Well… that will be… interesting." Cooper stated and Blaine couldn't read his voice.

Blaine felt a little sick to his stomach. He was grateful that the Lottery allowed for same-sex couples, but the system was severally messed up when you could end up with someone outside of your sexual orientation.

"Cooper, I'm so so sorry." Blaine knew he was being repetitive, but he was at a loss of what to say. How had his brother's life and hopes and dreams crumbled so fast?

"I told you not to keep apologizing." Cooper said in a tight voice. "And it's not like I've never tried… that before."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, little brother, that I have made good use of my freedom. I may prefer females, but I'm not immune to the attraction of men."

Blaine's eyebrows shot up; well there was something he hadn’t know about his big brother.

"Honestly, his gender is the least of my concerns." Cooper continued. "It's the 'til death do us part' idea that I have issues with. I.. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do."

Blaine bit his lip to keep himself from saying how sorry he was again. "Just get home Cooper. We'll figure something out."

"Right. Right. I'm sure it will all be fine." Cooper said cheerfully, but Blaine could tell when his brother was bluffing; for an actor, he wasn't that great at it, and right now Cooper's fake cheerfulness was doing a flimsy job of covering his true feelings.

That evening, Blaine tried to focus on homework and not think about his brother's disappointment or about who this Kurt Hummel would be. He knew it was irrational because it wasn't Kurt's fault, but he couldn't help feeling a bit resentful towards the guy who was coming out of nowhere and messing up his brother's life.  
  
Kurt Elizabeth Hummel. Life ruiner.


	3. Part One: III

Kurt was up before the sun Saturday morning. He couldn't sleep a moment longer. Today was the day he would meet Cooper Anderson, the man he was going to spend the rest of his life with.  
  
An excited, nervous shudder ran down his body. What would Cooper be like? Would they have anything in common? Would he think Kurt was just a kid? What if he wasn't attracted to Kurt at all _? What if they didn't like each other?_

Kurt stood in front of his full-length mirror and took a few long deep breaths, counting them out as he went.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5" In.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1," Out

Kurt knew himself well enough to know that if he wasn't careful he would work himself up into an anxiety attack and that wasn't how he wanted this day to go.

Once he had calmed down, he walked to the chair where he'd laid out his outfit for the day. He bought new clothes just for the occasion, but now he stood there looking at them and they felt all wrong. He went to his closet and started rummaging through his options. Much of his wardrobe was already packed up and ready to go, so he had to choose from what was left in his closet.

At about 6:30am there was a knock on his door and his dad poked his head in. "Hey bud, how's it going in here?"

Kurt was wearing a pair of bright blue pants and a green shirt that didn't go together at all and holding up a couple of shirts still on the hanger, taking turns holding them up in front of himself.

"What do you think?" He asked his dad switching back and forth between the two shirts.

"I thought you went shopping for something."

"I did." Kurt said tossing the shirts down on his bed, "I'm wearing my new pants; I just can't get the shirt right." He looked up at his dad nervously. "I have to get this right."

Burt slipped into the room and looked down at the neat piles of clothes on Kurt's bed. "He isn't going to like you for what you wear Kurt."

Kurt clenched his jaw and grabbed another shirt turning to look at it in the mirror, "I know dad, but I only get this one chance to make a first impression."

His dad nodded and picked up a dark charcoal vest from a pile on the bed. "I always liked this."

Kurt turned to him and lifted an eyebrow, "Did you just pick something at random to say you like it?"

"I pay attention, Kurt, I know this stuff is important to you." Burt answered seriously, "You wore this vest to your friend Quinn's going away party. You looked good, grown up."

  
Kurt stared at his dad in surprise and then down at the vest. It was a good choice, sophisticated and stylish without being overloud, but wouldn't go with these pants. He reached out and took it from his dad's hand. "Thanks dad, really. You know how crazy I get."

"Not crazy just… passionate." His dad said with a smile.

Kurt smiled back.

"This is it then, huh Kurt?" His dad stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked a little misty eyed. "You'll be heading off to Westerville today, somebody's husband." Burt swiped his eyes quickly with the sleeve of his shirt and Kurt's heart stuck in his throat.

They had spoken with the Lifemate Center and had been informed that Kurt would be living with Cooper, seeing as Cooper had his own place and Kurt didn't. Kurt had secretly been wishing that Cooper could come here, it would have been a lot less frightening, but he knew that wasn't practical.

"Dad," Kurt said, putting down the clothes and giving him a big hug. "It isn't that far, we're lucky, it could have been much further away." He squeezed him a little tighter as his dad hugged him back. "It will be okay, you aren't going to lose me. I need my dad too much to let that happen."

They pulled back a little and Burt chuckled. "You're a grown up now Kurt."

"Doesn't mean I don't still need my dad."

Burt chuckled. "How do you feel?"

"Excited? Terrified?" Kurt answered. "A little of everything."

Burt nodded and placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Just be yourself, Kurt." Burt shrugged and looked back at the piles of clothes on Kurt's bed. "I'll leave you to it." He walked to the door, "Let me know if you need anything."

Almost an hour later, Kurt came downstairs wearing black wingtip oxfords, tight dark slacks, a black, yellow, and blue chequered shirt and the charcoal vest his dad had picked out. He finished it off with a bottlecap brooch he'd fallen in love with at a flea market. He swooped his hair up in his best pompadour and looked ready to conquer the world.

"Kurt!" Carol said as he entered the kitchen. "You look amazing."

Kurt smiled as he sat down at the table and Carol brought him breakfast.

"Thanks. Sorry I didn't help with breakfast this morning, I meant to, but got distracted."

"No one blames you for that." Carol said. "It's a big day."

Finn was already digging into his pancakes and his dad was sipping some decaf coffee while he ate his fruit and granola; he'd been really good about eating healthy since his heart attack over a year ago.

"You do look very handsome, son." He dad said, and Kurt couldn't help but feel a little like crying. He was happy, but his life was about to change dramatically, he'd never not lived with his dad; he couldn't imagine what it was going to be like. And now he was leaving not to go to New York but to move in with a complete stranger.  
  
Kurt tried to eat breakfast, but had too many butterflies in his stomach. In the end, he ate some toast and noticed that Carol gave his dad some snacks before they left.

"Sometimes the wait at the LMC is long; I don't want you getting hungry on top of everything else going on today."

They had decided that just Burt and Kurt would go, not because Kurt didn't want Carol and Finn around, but the Lifemate Center didn't like you to bring crowds of people, and Kurt was worried that too many people waiting and watching with him would be more than he could handle anyway.

With a hug for both Carol and Finn, he and his dad set out for Westerville

An hour and a half later, they pulled up to the LMC in Westerville, OH. They were a bit early, but Kurt knew his dad had planned it that way so Kurt wouldn't fret about being late. They entered a building that was set up a lot like a doctor's office. A main waiting lobby, a receptionist behind a counter and then the rest of the building behind closed doors.

There were already some people in the waiting area and Kurt couldn't help but look around and wonder if one of them was Cooper Anderson.

"Name and LM number." The receptionist said, passing Kurt a clipboard. "Kurt Hummel. HK7J875." Kurt answered as the receptionist signed him in.

"Please fill out the forms and take a seat; we'll call you when we're ready for you."

Kurt nodded and followed his dad to a set of chairs. He was beginning to feel a little dizzy and his throat was tight. He sat down and started answering the questions. He'd already gone in for a physical at his doctor's the day before. The Lottery always made sure you were healthy before you were paired, but there were still some medical questions and general inquiries about what you hoped for from your first year of marriage and how the Lottery could help.

Kurt filled out his paper slowly, distracted by looking around at the other people in the room. There was one guy in the corner who could have been Cooper. He looked the right age, he was tall, slim and dark skinned. He looked nervous and fidgety. Kurt could understand that.

He had just about convinced himself that it had to be Cooper, since no one else here seemed to be a nearly 30 year old male – when the little bell above the entrance chimed and someone new walked in.

Kurt about dropped his pen.   
  
It was a young man with dark wavy hair. He was trim and compact, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He wore light gray slacks, a well-fitted white polo that showed off his _really nice_ arms and an argyle blue and gray sweater vest.

He was  _gorgeous_. The newcomer looked around the waiting room anxiously, his eyes flitting over Kurt before he went to the front desk. Kurt couldn't hear what the young man said but soon he was sitting down nearby and filling out paperwork as his knee bounced up and down nervously.

His dad caught Kurt's line of sight and then turned and looked at him.

"Maybe." Burt said under his breath, knowing what Kurt was thinking.

The guy finished the paperwork really fast and then looked up; he made eye contact with Kurt for a moment, and Kurt blinked slowly at his expressive golden eyes. He really hoped this was Cooper Anderson, even if he looked a little young to be 29 – some people looked young for their age.  
  
Then the bell chimed again and Kurt watched as a tall, classically handsome man walked in. He too had wavy dark hair and expressive eyes though his were a piercing blue and he was much taller than the other young man. He wore a white button-up shirt and a black suit that was obviously expensive and tailored for him. He finished it off with a long thin blue tie that matched his eyes.

Kurt had to remind himself to keep breathing.

He sat next to the first guy who passed him the paperwork. "I filled out as much as I could," he said, and the tall one nodded, taking it and looking everything over. If the first young man seemed nervous, _this_ poor guy looked like he might be sick. He couldn't sit still, and after he finished and turned in his paperwork, he kept getting up and pacing the room, glancing at Kurt every few minutes. There wasn't really anyone else there who looked about Kurt's age.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was only about 20 minutes, Kurt's name was called.

"Kurt Elizabeth Hummel and Cooper Andrew Anderson."

Kurt stood and rubbed his hands against his pants, his hands feeling a little clammy. The two men Kurt had his eyes on went towards the front as well. From behind the closed door came a Lottery pairing counselor. She didn't look more than 25, had curly red hair and a peppy smile.

"Hi! I'm Gina." She said and looked down at her clipboard. "Kurt?"

"That's me." Kurt said and held out his hand, she shook it and turned to the other men. "And that means Cooper…"

The tall man with the blue eyes put on a devilishly charming smile, but not for Gina, he looked straight at Kurt. "I'm Cooper Anderson," he said, and sent Kurt a little wink that made Kurt blush to his roots. Then he turned to Gina and shook her hand.

Gina looked past them at Burt and the other guy, the one that who was with Cooper. "I'm going to have to ask friends and family to wait out here a little longer, we like to have the Lifemates have a couple minutes alone."

Burt nodded and clapped Kurt on the back, looking like he wouldn't be able to speak unless he wanted to cry.

The guy with Cooper bounced on his toes nervously. "See you in a little bit Coop." He said.

Cooper raised a hand and messed up the guy's hair. "See you soon Squirt."

Brother. If Kurt had to guess that was his younger brother.

They followed Gina back behind the door as she talked a mile a minute; Kurt didn't hear most of it, he kept stealing glances at Cooper trying not to blush too much, Cooper was really attractive. Gina led them to a private room with a couple of couches, a mini fringe and a coffee table.

She tapped her finger on the wall next to what looked like a doorbell.

"Just buzz if you need anything." She said and handed them laminated little flipbooks. "Here are some conversation starters if you need them. And make sure you set a date okay?"  
  
"A date?" Kurt asked dumbly.  
  
"For your marriage?" She said, as if she had probably already explained this in the hallway. "You have until the 10th of next month if you want to plan something, or we can have a qualified Lifemate counselor do it for you today before you leave if you want. Just let me know." She smiled at them and then left the room shutting the door behind her.

Suddenly Kurt felt trapped, he looked at the wooden door and wanted to wrench it open and make a run for it. He was not ready for this. He was too young. He didn’t know what he was doing! His breathing started to speed up and he felt a little dizzy.

"Hey." A voice broke him out of his panic. Cooper had grabbed a couple of waters from the mini fridge and was now nudging Kurt's shoulder with one of them. "Take a deep breath Kurt," he said. "And then drink some water."

Kurt nodded and took the bottle from his hand. He unscrewed the top and took a slip. Just having something to do with his hands helped him calm down some.

"I'm Cooper." The tall gorgeous stranger said. Even though Kurt already knew that.

"I'm Kurt." He grimaced a little at how high his voice sounded.

"Kurt Elizabeth Hummel." Cooper nodded.

"Elizabeth was my mom's name."

"Hmmmm." Cooper hummed. "My mom's name was Anne."

They stood there in silence for a moment before Cooper smiled and nodded his head towards one of the couches. "Wanna sit?" He said, plopping down comfortably and patting the cushion next to him. Kurt tentatively sat down, but not too close.

"I'm not going to bite." Cooper laughed. "Or yell. Or be mean. Or whatever it is your afraid of right now kid."

Kurt had been staring down at his water bottle but his head snapped up at that. "I'm not a kid. I'm 19." He realized too late how young that statement made him sound.

"My little brother's 18." Cooper said conversationally. "Blaine. The cute as a button one out in the lobby?"

Kurt smiled. "Did you just call your brother 'cute as a button'?"

"Hey, good looks run in the family." Cooper grinned making Kurt laugh a little.

He could feel the tension start to fade from his body. Cooper kept up the conversation well. He seemed cheerful and charismatic and he talked a lot with his hands. Kurt learned that he'd be moving in with both Cooper  _and_  Blaine since they lived together. He discovered that Cooper was an actor and was very interested in Kurt's dreams of performing; at least they had something in common.

They talked about mostly surface things; Cooper kept it light and before Kurt knew it, an hour had passed. There was a knock on the door and Gina poked her head in.

"Hey, you two; how are things going?"

"Good." Cooper answered and Kurt nodded, relieved that things were going so well.  
  
"Okay! Good! So do I need to schedule a wedding or do you just want to do it now?"

They hadn't really discussed that. Kurt wanted to wait, a month wasn't enough to plan a wedding, but luckily Kurt had been planning his for a while, knowing that when you were paired things moved fast. But Cooper spoke up before he did.

"Hell, let's just do it today. Get it over with." He turned to Kurt. "No reason to wait right? I mean who really wants a big wedding anyhow?"

Kurt opened his mouth and then closed it again swallowing. "Oh. Yeah. I mean… okay."

Cooper smiled at him and it seemed a little too happy, almost frantic. "Great." He sprung up from the couch. "I mean we both look amazing, we both have family here, so let's do this thing!"

"Get it over with?" Kurt said standing and echoing what Cooper had said.

"Exactly."

Gina smiled. "Super-duper! Follow me and we'll go get your family and a qualified Lifemate counselor and you two will leave married! That does always make things so easy."

Everything after that happened in a flurry that Kurt could hardly keep up with. Kurt introduced Cooper to his dad and met Cooper's brother Blaine who kept smiling but looked sad every time Kurt caught him looking at Cooper. And then they were all swept up into a little courtyard outside, with rose bushes and a tacky little lattice archway, and 20 minutes later – Kurt was a married man.

The suddenness of it all left Kurt feeling dizzy and a little sick. This wasn't how he'd always pictured things going. It didn't feel right. Soon he was standing in the parking lot as Cooper loaded the luggage Kurt had brought with him into the back of his car.

Burt pulled Kurt in for a tight hug. "You okay bud?"

"I will be. I'm just a little… I think I'm a little in shock."

His dad held Kurt out by the shoulders and looked him in the eye. His dad was crying and Kurt could feel his own tears start to fall.

"It will all be okay, Kurt. I'm just a phone call away, and Cooper already invited us over for dinner on Monday and that's only two days away. I'll see you then."

"What if I need to see you before that?" Kurt asked his voice slightly panicked.

Burt smiled. "Just a phone call away."

Kurt nodded and hugged him again before Cooper came up and shook Burt's hand. "Pleasure to meet you." He said with a winning smile and then Kurt was sitting in the front seat of Cooper's car, Blaine in the back and Cooper at his side as they pulled out of the parking lot and drove off – on his way to his new life.


	4. Part One: IV

Blaine sat quietly in the back seat on the way home. He watched and listened as his brother made idle chit-chat with his new husband. Cooper's  _husband_ , the idea was so foreign to Blaine he had a hard time taking it in.   
  
As far as Kurt went, he wasn't anything like what Blaine had imagined, not that he knew what to imagine.   
  
Kurt was the first person he saw when he walked into the LMC that morning. Cooper was out pacing the parking lot "getting into character" before he came in. Blaine knew that meant calming his nerves. When Blaine walked in and saw Kurt sitting nervously, rim-rod straight in his chair, he immediately knew it was him.   
  
It was a struggle for Blaine to keep his eyes off of him for the 20 or so minutes he waited with Cooper for his name to be called. He kept telling himself that his fascination with the young man was just because he was Cooper's Lifemate, but Blaine knew that wasn't all there was to it.   
  
Kurt was literally the most stunning guy Blaine had ever seen.   
  
His hair flawlessly swooped over his head, his clothes fitting him perfectly and emphasizing the long lines of his body. And his face, pale with an anxious pink blush on his high cheeks and eyes that seemed both blue and green at the same time.   
  
Blaine had to keep reminding himself to look away and not to forget that this was the man his  _brother_  was about to marry. Soon Cooper and Kurt were called back and Blaine didn’t see them again for an hour. He spent the time talking to Kurt’s father, Burt, a mechanic a town over. Burt didn’t say too much about his son, but it was obvious that he loved him very much and was worried about his well-being.   
  
Blaine did the best he could to let Burt Hummel know that Cooper was a good man who would treat Kurt well. But what good was Blaine’s word? Burt didn’t know either of them. Then came a hurried wedding, Blaine was only partially surprised Cooper had opted to get the ceremony done that day. Cooper may not want the wedding, but he also knew it was inevitable.   
  
Anyone who didn’t know Cooper might think he was happy about being paired – he didn’t stop smiling he had a bounce to his step – but Blaine could see the strain behind his eyes and the slight tightening around his lips. Toward the end of the rushed ceremony, Cooper’s’s smile had grown so large Blaine was worried he’d make his face crack like glass. Cooper was just doing what he had to and getting it over with quickly, it didn’t mean he wasn’t terrified by it.   
  
Now, Blaine sat in the backseat trying to make himself invisible; he’d never felt like such a third wheel as he did right then.   
  
“So you live in Westerville, but you’re an actor?” Kurt asked Cooper, and Blaine couldn’t help but smile at the melodic sound of his voice.   
  
“Yeah, I mean I haven’t done a lot of acting in the past few years,” Cooper said and glanced at Blaine through the rearview window. “Some commercials and voice overs. But I’m getting back into it, my agent has some auditions lined up for me the next few weeks.”  
  
“In Ohio?” Kurt asked surprised.  
  
“Some small stuff here, but no, there’s nothing really out here for someone of  _my_  talent.”   
  
Blaine chuckled and shook his head; he hoped Kurt would come to find out that under all of his pride and bravado Cooper was a kind heart person.   
  
“No, I go back and forth between here and L.A. a lot. Used to live out there.”   
  
“Oh.” Kurt said. “So you’re gone often?”  
  
“I guess. I mean Squirt doesn’t need me as much, so yeah.” He turned his head to smile back at Blaine.   
  
Blaine cleared his throat. “Cooper only moved back to Ohio to live with me when our parents passed away.” Kurt had turned around in his seat the best he could to look at him and his steady gaze made Blaine feel a little ruffled. “I don’t know what I would have done without him.” Blaine smiled. “Actually I do know. I would have gone to live with Aunt Kelly, which would have been…”  
  
“Horrible.” Cooper finished for him.   
  
“Awkward. I was going to say awkward.”  
  
“So you gave up your career and moved back to Ohio for your brother?” Kurt asked looking at Cooper with something like awe in his eyes. This could be good; Blaine could build Cooper up as the hero. To Blaine he was a hero. Yes, this marriage hadn’t been what Cooper wanted, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t work.   
  
Cooper shrugged. “Not gave up, put on hold.”    
  
They were mostly silent the rest of the way home, stopping for some fast food for lunch. Blaine kept stealing glances at Kurt’s profile, he could almost see wheels turning in his head, but had no idea what he was mulling over.   
  
When they got back to the house, they all grabbed Kurt’s suitcases. Kurt’s dad said he was going to send more of Kurt’s things over later on, but for now they all carted what he had into the house and up to Cooper’s room. Cooper had taken over the master bedroom when he had moved back, his childhood room converted for guests.   
  
Blaine watched as Kurt looked around the room, it was big and open and expensively decorated like the rest of the house.   
  
“So this is our room I guess.” Cooper said looking at Kurt and sitting down on the big king sized bed. Blaine watched as Cooper waggled his eyebrows and smile at Kurt who blushed a deep red. Blaine’s feeling of being a third wheel hit him again and he excused himself as fast as he could, leaving Kurt and Cooper to unpack Kurt’s things.   
  
Blaine went downstairs and started poking around the kitchen to see what they could all have for dinner later. Or maybe Cooper would take Kurt out. That would probably be good; maybe Blaine would suggest it to him. Cooper came down soon and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.   
  
“How’s it going up there?” Blaine asked.   
  
“He has a lot of stuff,” Cooper said, taking a swig of water.  


“He seems nice though,” Blaine said, trying to steer the conversation towards maybe convincing Cooper to give things a try with his new Lifemate.  
  
“Oh yeah, sweet kid. For sure.”   
  
“You should take him out to dinner or-“  
  
“Actually I’m heading out,” Cooper said, screwing the top back on his bottle. “I have an appointment. And then dinner plans with friends.”   
  
Blaine bunched up his eyebrows in confusion. “Plans that couldn’t be rescheduled?”  
  
“Why should they?”  
  
“I don’t know Cooper, you got  _married today_?” Blaine said, exasperated. “Your new husband is trying to settle in. Don’t you think you should be here?” Blaine was starting to lose his patience with his brother.  
  
“Kurt’s a grown up. He’ll be fine. I’m not going to change my life for him and I don’t expect him to change his life for me.”   
  
Blaine couldn’t believe how callous Cooper was being. “He’s upstairs unpacking because he just moved in with two complete strangers! That isn’t changing his life?”  
  
Cooper sighed and looked guilty for a moment. “You don’t get it,” Cooper said.   
  
“No, I don’t get it. Cooper, you can’t act like nothing has happened. _This is his life too_.” Blaine didn’t know when his resentment towards Kurt had melted, maybe when he’d first seen him at the LMC looking scared and nervous and so lovely and… Blaine shook his head; he couldn’t believe what a jerk his brother was being.   
  
Cooper winced at Blaine’s raised voice and cleared his throat. “I just need time, Squirt,” He said sadly. “Just give me some time.”   
  
Blaine immediately felt bad; he knew that Cooper was struggling with this, his world had come crashing down today. He followed silently as Cooper walked out of the kitchen, grabbed his keys from the table by the door and left the house. Blaine was left staring behind him feeling upset that his brother would just leave, and miserable about the lost look that Cooper had in his eyes.   
  
Blaine glanced upstairs, biting his lip, and finally decided to just go for it. He went upstairs and knocked on Cooper’s bedroom door, listening as Kurt coughed and sniffled a little before calling out. “Come in.”   
  
Blaine was greeted by the sight of a red-eyed Kurt sitting on the bed looking like he might have just stopped crying.  
  
Blaine shifted from foot to foot feeling uncomfortable. “Could I… do you need help unpacking?”   
  
Kurt looked up at him in surprise. “Cooper said he had plans.”  
  
“Yeah.”   
  
“I can unpack on my own.”   
  
“If you want to be left alone just say,” Blaine responded, “But really I’d be happy to help and then I could show you around the house?”  
  
Kurt looked around at his suitcases on the floor and the big open one next to him on the bed. “I’m picky about how my things are put away.”  
  
Blaine smiled, “Just tell me what to do.”   
  
Cooper wasn’t wrong about Kurt having a lot of stuff. But it was all very well organized. After moving a bunch of Cooper’s things out of the closet and into a guest room, assuring Kurt that they were things Cooper never used, they had space to start organizing Kurt’s belongings.   
  
Blaine enjoyed helping Kurt unpack; it helped him learn a lot about him. It was obvious that Kurt loved fashion, that he was organized and a planner. But other things started to surface too. Blaine was hanging a lovely velvet jacket up when he stopped and looked at Kurt.   
  
“Is this a Paul Smith jacket?” He asked.   
  
“You know who Paul Smith is?” Kurt asked, lifting an eyebrow.  
  
“I saw a jacket like this of his in GQ a few months ago. _You have one_?”  
  
Kurt smiled looking pleased with himself. “I made that actually. I copied the jacket from GQ.”  
  
Blaine was properly impressed. “You’re kidding me? That’s amazing.”   
  
Kurt smiled brighter and Blaine decided that there was something special about Kurt’s smile, he wanted to keep it on his face to study it more thoroughly. Things went well from there; Kurt seemed to relax some and start to open up. After they got Kurt’s things put away and the suitcases stored, Blaine took him on a tour of the house.   
  
“I grew up in this house,” Blaine said. “Well, we moved here when I was 5 so it’s all I really remember.”   
  
“It’s beautiful,” Kurt said. The house really was amazing. Great lighting, big windows and lots of open space.   
  
“My dad was an architect. He and my mom designed it together,” Blaine said, running his hand down the wooden doorframe to the living room. “We thought about selling it after they died thinking it would be too hard to stay here, but…” Blaine sighed and smiled a little at Kurt who was listening to him with a sweet, but sad expression. “It felt like selling part of them you know?”  
  
Kurt nodded. “My mom had this old dresser. When she died, I asked for it. I still open the drawers sometimes because it smells like her perfume.” Blaine watched as Kurt’s eye wandered off, no doubt memories of his mom crossing his mind.   
  
“I hope the dresser is one of the things your dad is sending.”   
  
“Do you think Cooper would mind?”   
  
“Kurt, you live here now, this is your home.” Blaine didn’t understand this sudden need he had to make sure that Kurt felt at home and comfortable here. He just wanted him to be happy here. Here with  _Cooper_.   
  
Kurt nodded. “I’ll tell him to bring it.”   
  
They spent the rest of the afternoon just talking; Kurt was so easy to talk to, and the more time passed, the more Kurt smiled and laughed and Blaine loved it. They ordered pizza because really Blaine needed to go grocery shopping and ate in the living room, deciding to watch a movie.   
  
“You have so many musicals!” Kurt said, happily surprised.   
  
“I love musicals,” Blaine said. “I love music.”   
  
Kurt seemed excited about that. “I was in my school’s Glee club during high school.”  
  
“I’m in Glee club at Dalton!” Blaine said.   
  
Kurt stopped mid bite. “Wait. Wait. You’re a  _Warbler_?”   
  
“I’m the lead soloist,” Blaine answered proudly and wondered for a moment if he sounded like Cooper when he bragged about the Warblers.   
  
Kurt sat up and smacked the pillow near him in excitement. “No way! I’ve seen you perform! In your navy and red blazers. I was in the New Directions!”   
  
Blaine coughed on his pizza. “You won Nationals last year.”  
  
“Yes we did,” Kurt said a little smugly.   
  
“Aren’t you also the choir that had their two leaders make-out on stage after a performance in New York one year?”   
  
Kurt groaned and rolled his eyes. “That was my step-brother and his on again off again girlfriend Rachel.”  
  
“ _You’re kidding me_.” Blaine laughed.   
  
Kurt scooted closer to him on the couch and Blaine’s heart beat a little faster. Kurt really got into the story of the drama between his step-brother and best friend. Blaine laughed and listened and enjoyed Kurt’s company. Eventually they ended up watching  _Into the Woods_  and Blaine smiled as Kurt sang along under his breath. After the movie, they were both ready to turn in for the night; it had been a long day.    
  
“Sorry, I don’t know when Cooper is going to be back,” Blaine said as he walked upstairs with Kurt.   
  
Kurt shrugged. “Yeah, I guess he had important things to do.”  
  
Blaine felt a little guilty on his brother’s behalf. “He just… he flees sometimes when he is stressed. I’m not saying it’s okay, but he… we Andersons aren’t always good at facing our problems.”  
  
“I didn’t know I was a problem,” Kurt said, sounding a little hurt.   
  
“No! No no. It’s not that. He just… he doesn’t know what to do in this situation so he runs. Give him time. I really believe it will all work out.” Blaine’s throat felt a little dry as he encouraged Kurt, and he didn’t understand the weird feeling in his stomach.   
  
“Okay,” Kurt said simply, looking thoughtful. “I guess I can understand that.”   
  
Blaine smiled and looked down at the ground. “Well, goodnight Kurt.” He looked up at Kurt and could have sworn Kurt blushed a little.   
  
“Goodnight Blaine.”  
  
Kurt changed into his pajamas and went through his nightly face cleaning and moisturizing routine. Then he called his dad and they talked for a while before slipping into bed. It was almost 11:00pm and Cooper still wasn’t home yet.   
  
Kurt sighed and tried to get comfortable, wondering if he was on the right side of the bed or not. Eventually, when he was almost asleep, he heard Cooper pad softly into the room; he shuffled around in the dark for a little while before getting under the covers next to Kurt.   
  
Kurt’s stomach tightened with nerves, but Cooper just turned away from him and Kurt could hear him snoring a few minutes later.   
  
Kurt bit back his tears. The afternoon and evening he’d spent with Blaine was so nice. It was easy and relaxed and made Kurt think that maybe things here wouldn’t be so bad, but now next to Cooper’s sleeping form he realized that he had a steep hill to climb if he wanted Cooper Anderson to fall in love with him. 


	5. Part One: V

Kurt didn't want to say that Cooper was avoiding him, but over the next few days it felt like he was.  
  
Monday rolled around and Kurt's family was going to come over for dinner. Cooper and Kurt prepared the meal and it was the first time since spending an hour together at the LMC that Kurt actually got to spend some one-on-one time with his Lifemate.  
  
Blaine hid up in his room while they got dinner ready. Kurt got the impression that Blaine usually did the cooking, but he was letting Kurt and Cooper have some time together. Which was sweet really, but made Kurt uneasy, he already knew Blaine much better than he knew Cooper.   
  
It turned out though that Cooper was funny and enjoyable while they prepared dinner for their families. Complementing Kurt's skills in the kitchen and winking at him, making him blush. Kurt didn't understand; it was like there was more than one Cooper; the enjoyable affable Cooper who was chopping carrots for a salad and bumping his hip against Kurt's. And then there was the Cooper who was out all of the time and only came back home once Kurt was already in bed.  
  
Kurt wished he had the guts to ask Cooper what was going on in his head, but he didn't know him that well and didn’t want to make things worse between them. There marriage was still new, there would be time for it to grow and flourish… as least Kurt hoped so.   
  
Burt, Carol, Finn and Rachel arrived right on time that evening and Kurt hugged his dad like he hadn't seen him in years. Rachel hadn't exactly been invited, but she managed to make it over anyway. Kurt was actually relieved to see her; he really needed a friend.  
  
Dinner was going well, Cooper was charming and talkative and though Kurt was learning that Cooper's favorite subject was himself, he was somehow good natured and charismatic about it.  
  
Kurt sat between him and Rachel and every once in a while, Kurt would feel Cooper brush his hand against his leg or purposefully bump his foot against his own under the table. It wasn't much of anything at all, but it made Kurt smile every time he did it. It seemed flirty and flirty was progress.   
  
Between Rachel and Cooper, no one else got to say too much. Rachel was peppering Cooper with questions about his career and Cooper was more than happy to give her tips and pointers.  
  
"So you see yourself working in L.A. one day?" Burt asked when there was finally a pause in Rachel and Cooper's conversation. Kurt looked at his dad and then at Cooper. Kurt pretty much knew the answer to that question, but had avoided directly asking it so that he could at least pretend that Cooper didn't have set plans.  
  
"My plan has always been to move back out west once Blaine starts college," Cooper said with a smile. "I mean you can't really be a full time actor in Ohio."  
  
Kurt swallowed, his food suddenly tasting dry. Cooper wanted L.A. and Kurt wanted New York. Kurt looked worriedly at Cooper and then quickly away. Blaine caught his eyes and gave him a small encouraging smile. At least they had a year to figure it out; Kurt wouldn't freak out yet. He still had a year.  
  
"Oh but Kurt is going to New York," Rachel said and Kurt shot her a glare. This wasn't a conversation he was ready to have three days into knowing Cooper, especially right now in front of everyone.  
  
Cooper raised his eyebrows and looked at Kurt. "New York? Really? You never mentioned that."  
  
Kurt froze, everyone at the table looking at him. It was all Kurt could do to keep himself from turning on the snark and snap out something about of course he hadn't mentioned it, how could he when Cooper was never even around!?  
  
He was saved by Blaine, though, who broke the awkward silence. "New York City?" He asked looking excited. "What do you want to do there?"  
  
"I've been accepted to the New York Academy for Dramatic Arts, actually," Kurt said, feeling a swell of pride. "I had to turn it down this year, but I can reapply next year and most of the time if you had to defer because your name was drawn in the Lottery they let you in."  
  
Blaine's eyes grew round. "You got into NYADA? That's incredible, Kurt, only a handful of people make it in."  
  
"I know!" Rachel spoke up. "He is  _very_  talented." She looked at Cooper pointedly. "New York will love him."  
  
"Well good job kid," Cooper said and his foot that had been pressed against Kurt's moved away.  
  
Kurt again felt stuck; anything he said would lead to a conversation he just wasn't ready to have. And even the small gesture of Cooper moving his foot away was hurtful.  
  
Blaine came to the rescue again. "You know, Kurt, maybe this school year you could come talk to the Warblers, we'd love to hear from someone who's not only won Nationals but was accepted to NYADA."  
  
"But that would be treason!" Rachel gasped.  
  
Kurt smiled and rolled his eyes. "I'd like that," he answered Blaine.  
  
It wasn't that he wasn't loyal to New Directions, but Blaine was family now. He could talk to the Warblers without betraying his friends. The conversation flowed easily from there, though Cooper was strangely quiet for the rest of the evening.  
  
As everyone left, Finn gave Kurt a pat on the back and a dopey smile, and Carol and Rachel hugged him tight. Burt hugged him, too, and whispered in his ear, "Don't give up your dreams bud, find a way to make it work." And then they were gone and Kurt was left with just Cooper and Blaine once again.  
  
The next few weeks went pretty much the same; Cooper was gone all the time. Driving to Columbus for overnight stays to see his agent or flying out to Cincinnati to shoot a commercial. At first, Kurt was angry about how little he saw of his new husband, but he slowly started to get used to it. He was becoming much more comfortable in his new home and had even done a little redecorating in the bedroom with Blaine's help.

His dad had brought his car that first Monday night as well, so Kurt didn't feel as trapped. Rachel left for New York and threw a big party that Cooper couldn't make it to, but Kurt asked Blaine to come and he did.

Rachel was distressed and weepy by the end of the night, talking about how everyone always abandoned her because Finn refused to move and Kurt was married. Kurt comforted her the best he could while dealing with his own disappointment.

"You're a good friend you know," Blaine said on the ride back to Westerville. "I know it can't be easy for you, not going to New York this year."

Kurt bit his lip and kept his eyes on the road, not speaking for a moment. "I didn't mind so much when I first found out," Kurt finally said. "I mean… I've kind of always wanted a Lifemate." He could feel Blaine looking at him, but still kept his eyes forward.

"I get that. The Lottery is good for a lot of people. My parents really loved each other and it seems like your dad and Carol work."

"Carol has been great for my dad. Now that I'm not there, I'm so glad he has someone. He really loved my mom, too, so I know that the Lottery can work. I just want it to work for  _me_."

He glanced over at Blaine to get his reaction, not having meant to say so much. Blaine looked a little flustered

"Cooper's just… Cooper is…"

"It's okay. You don't need to say anything for Cooper," Kurt smiled noticing how cute Blaine looked when he was nervous. "I just need to man up and talk to him about _us_ and where things are going."

Blaine was quiet for a while before he spoke up again. "What happened to your mom?"

Kurt pulled up to a stoplight and faced Blaine with a sad smile, wondering where the change of subject had come from. "Cancer. When I was eight."

Blaine's forehead furrowed and he put a hand over one of Kurt's on the steering wheel. His hand was strong and smooth and had calluses on the fingertips that Kurt knew came from playing the guitar.

"I'm sorry, Kurt," Blaine said. "No one should have to lose their mom so young."

Kurt nodded, his throat filling with tears as the light changed and he drove forward.

"Tell me about her," Blaine said. "I mean if you want to."

Kurt smiled, people rarely asked about his mom and Kurt actually loved to talk about her.

"She was a teacher and she played the piano. She started teaching me, but I didn't keep up with it after she died so I'm not very good. And she loved to bake. I remember making cookies and muffins with her. She always encouraged me to just be myself. My dad says that even when I was little I had a strong will and she knew how to handle it."

Blaine laughed, " _You_? A strong will? Never."

Kurt swatted at him. "Hey!"

"She sounds wonderful, Kurt."

Kurt's smile widened. It hurt to talk about his mom, but it hurt more to never talk about her. He didn't want to lose the memories he had.

"What about you, what happened to you parents?" He asked tentatively, neither Blaine nor Cooper had said much about their parents.

"It was a car accident. Coming home from a relative's wedding. I was 13 and staying with a friend. My friend's mom told me what had happened the next morning, but I didn't really believe it until Cooper came back from California.

‘I'd never seen him so solemn. Cooper and I got along alright back then, but weren't really close yet. I remember he came over to where I was staying and didn't say anything at all; he just gave me this really tight long hug. And that's when I  _knew_. They were really gone."

Kurt had to wipe at his eyes to see the road clearly; losing his mom had been almost unbearable, but if he had lost his dad too? Kurt wasn't sure what would have become of him.

"And then he moved back home?"

"Yeah, and then he moved back home. If not, I would have gone to my Aunt Kelly who is very conservative and not that gay friendly. I know it sounds dramatic but I… I feel like Coop saved me."

"Wait," Kurt said in surprise. "You're  _gay_?" He stole a glance at Blaine to see his face break out in a smile before he started to laugh.

"It isn't obvious?"

"I don't know!" Kurt said. "I mean I hadn't really thought about it."

"Yeah, I'm gay." Blaine laughed.

"Did your parents know?"

"Yes, I had come out the year before. I mean my dad wasn't thrilled, but I like to think he would have come around. Mom was great about it though. I think she knew already."

"I came out when I was 16," Kurt said. "When I had to mark my preference on the Lottery registration. I was so scared of how my dad would react, but he said he already knew. He was supportive from the start, but he has definitely grown more comfortable with it over time."

It felt good to talk to Blaine. There was something so comforting and approachable about him. Cooper made him blush and feel a little giddy, but he also made Kurt upset and feel somewhat unwanted. He wished it were as easy with Cooper as it was with Blaine, they just clicked.   
  
Kurt pulled up to the house and they both got out and walked to the door. For a split second, Kurt thought about reaching out to hold Blaine's hand, but then he caught himself, not knowing where the urge had come from.

"So now that your friends are all off spread out around the map, I have an idea," Blaine said as he unlocked the front door.

"Yeah?" Kurt asked.

"I think before I go back to school and you start your online classes, you need to meet the Warblers."

"You want me to meet your friends?" Kurt said with a smile.

"Of course I do!" Blaine grinned at the entered the foyer, but the conversation stopped there as Cooper came running towards them.

"You won't believe it!" He yelled, giving Blaine a big hug before turning to Kurt and hugging him as well and placing a quick peck to his cheek. Kurt could feel his whole face heat up. It was the first real show of affection he'd received from Cooper.

"I got an audition. A big one!"

"Really, Coop? That's great!" Blaine said, sharing in his excitement.

"I head back to L.A. tomorrow for the audition. It's for a movie! Like a  _big_  movie, not the small independent one like I was trying out for a few weeks ago. This is a  _big deal_! Like A list status."

"Congratulations, Cooper!" Kurt said, feeling genuinely happy for him; Cooper's enthusiasm was contagious. "You leave tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll only be gone a couple of days. And then we'll have to wait and see how things go. But…" He spun around on his heels. "This could be my big break!"

Kurt smiled and celebrated with Cooper, but he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. It looked more and more like Cooper's future was in California, and where did that leave Kurt? Where did that leave  _them_?


	6. Part One: VI

Blaine was torn between minding his own business when it came to Cooper and Kurt's relationship and gently reminding Cooper that his pairing with Kurt was a permanent thing and maybe he should treat Kurt better. In the end, he went with the gentle reminding.  
  
"Kurt is really great, Cooper, I don't understand why you won't give him a chance," he said, sitting on Cooper's bed… well Kurt and Cooper's bed, as Cooper packed for his trip to L.A.  
  
"I  _am_  giving him a chance!" Cooper said as he tossed things into his bag.  
  
"Come on, we both know that isn't true. You've hardly even been home since he moved in. I don’t even see you anymore. Have you two even had one single serious conversation?"  
  
"About what?" Cooper said, looking up from picking out which ties to pack.  
  
"About  _anything,_  Coop."  
  
"Listen, he's great. I get it, I do. And hey, he is totally hot, so that's a plus."  
  
Blaine squirmed a little on the bed, Cooper's declaration of Kurt’s hotness making him feel weird for some reason.  
  
"But I'm not going to just bare my soul to the kid, I don't even know him."  
  
Blaine groaned. "Oh my god! Cooper, that's exactly what I mean. You need to  _get_  to know him! He’s you Lifemate."  
  
Cooper didn't answer, instead he went to the dresser to grab some slacks.  
  
"Cooper," Blaine said sternly. "I know this isn't what you wanted; I understand that and I'm sorry things had to happen this way, but Coop…" He paused. "Cooper!"  
  
Cooper finally stopped and turned to look at Blaine.  
  
"Kurt is a part of our lives now. I mean, he isn't going to go away if you ignore him. And this isn't his fault. He was thrown into this marriage just like you were.  _Cut him some slack_."  
  
Cooper sighed and sat down next to Blaine on the bed, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, okay. I know you're right; I guess I could… ask him out? Like on a date or something?"  
  
Blaine smiled. "That's a perfect idea."  
  
"When I get back from California, then. Kurt and Cooper Hummel-Anderson will go on their first date. Happy?"  
  
"Yes," Blaine said and nodded, but his stomach felt a little tight.  
  
Kurt seemed really down after Cooper left for L.A., so Blaine decided to do something he hoped would cheer Kurt up. Throw a party. Blaine started school again in a week and Kurt was starting correspondence classes with Ohio State Community College.  
  
Blaine thought it might be a fun idea to have a pre-school year party. A chance for the Warblers to spend some time together and for Kurt to meet some new people. Blaine thought he was probably lonely with Rachel in New York and his friend Mercedes in L.A.  
  
He ran the idea by Kurt who seemed to like it. The Warblers had changed a lot since Blaine had first joined. His two best friends, Wes and David, had graduated already and moved on to college; they were still in contact some, but it wasn't the same. And then the previous year Nick had graduated as well.  
  
Now Blaine was on the Warbler Council, along with his friends Trent and Jeff, and with Sebastian Smythe who had joined the Warblers last year. Well, the council wasn't official until the school year started and the group voted, but everyone pretty much knew who would be on it this year. It would be Blaine's second year, and Trent and Sebastian's first.  
  
Trent and Kurt seemed to hit it off first thing; in fact, Kurt got along with all of the Warblers really well. Blaine had ordered a bunch of pizzas and set up his karaoke machine and the party was in full swing. Kurt and Trent were up in front hopping up and down and singing "Misery Business".  
  
It was the first time Blaine had heard Kurt sing for real, outside of humming or singing under his breath around the house, and even though Kurt was obviously just messing around and having a good time, Blaine could tell his voice was amazing. Not a surprise, really, he did get into NYADA.  
  
Blaine couldn't keep his eyes off Kurt; with the karaoke songs blaring, it hadn't taken Kurt very long to loosen up. Blaine had never seen him so relaxed and free spirited. It was almost intoxicating to watch.  
  
Blaine was pulled away from the duet, though, when the doorbell rang. He got up to answer it to find Sebastian standing there, his usual smirk on his face and a box of beer in his hand.  
  
"Hey there, handsome," he said, and strode into the house. He paused for a minute listening to the song from the other room before holding up beer. "Karaoke? Really? Seems like I brought this just in time."  
  
"How'd you even get alcohol?" Blaine asked, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Oh please," Sebastian said, stepping into Blaine's space and raking his eyes over him. "I have my ways."  
  
Blaine just rolled his eyes and pushed Sebastian back a little. "Can we not? I was hoping maybe this year I wouldn't have to constantly fend off your advances."  
  
"I was hoping that too," Sebastian said and winked. "The best way to do that is just to say ‘yes."  
  
"No," Blaine retorted and took the beer from him, walking to the kitchen; Sebastian followed him, grabbing one of the beers as Blaine set them out, and then handed one to Blaine.  
  
"No thanks."  
  
"Fine. Suit yourself," he said, taking a swig. "So, where's the twink?"  
  
Blaine's clenched his fist and took a breath. He was usually better about not letting Sebastian get under his skin; it must be the summer apart, Blaine's skin wasn't a thick.  
  
"He's not a twink."  
  
"Oh come on, Cooper gets a shiny new  _teenaged_  husband. What? Are you telling me he is a dog?”  
  
"Sebastian, just...  _don't_."  
  
"Don't what, babe?"  
  
"Don't be yourself okay? Kurt is great. He's… amazing. Don't make him feel uncomfortable."  
  
"Amazing?" Sebastian said, lifting his eyebrows.  
  
"Just… be nice."  
  
Sebastian waved his hand in the air and took another sip of beer. "Fine, fine."  
  
Sebastian followed Blaine back to the party announcing there was beer in the kitchen, and a bunch of the Warblers whooped and went to get some. Blaine watched as Sebastian set his eyes on Kurt and sneered. He walked up to him and held out his hand.  
  
"You must be Kurt. I'm Sebastian."  
  
"Hey!" Kurt said a little out of breath from the song he and Trent had just finished. He shook Sebastian's hand.  
  
"So you're the hubby, huh? Cooper's Lifemate?"  
  
"Yeah, um... that's me."  
  
Sebastian nodded and then leaned forward to speak under his breath. "So how is Cooper in bed? He always struck me as a good fuck."  
  
Kurt's eyes widened and his face turned red; Blaine grabbed Sebastian's arm and pulled him away, shooting Kurt an apologetic look.  
  
"Sebastian," he hissed as they moved away from Kurt. "I said not to… ugh! Can't you be normal?"  
  
Sebastian laughed. "What fun is  _normal_? Besides I was just being friendly." He leaned close to Blaine and smiled seductively. "Are you jealous? I mean your brother's a hunk, but you're sex on a stick. I’d do you over Cooper any day."  
  
Sebastian's hand moved slowly down Blaine's side to rest on his hip and Blaine quickly moved it off, shaking his head and walking away.

* * *

 

Kurt stood still as Blaine pulled Sebastian away from him. He was still a little in shock that a complete stranger would ask him that. What was wrong with this Sebastian guy?  
  
He watched as he and Blaine spoke and then as Sebastian leaned into Blaine's space, his hand traveling down Blaine's body. Oh god, they weren't _together_ were they? Blaine hadn’t mentioned having a boyfriend and Sebastian didn't seem like the kind of person a sweet guy like Blaine would go for. But then again Blaine would be the type to see the good in any one.  
  
Kurt was relieved when he saw Blaine pointedly remove Sebastian's hand from his waist. He smiled a little as Blaine left Sebastian and walked back towards him. He couldn't help but notice Sebastian's eyes all over Blaine, though, as he walked away. Okay it was official; Kurt did not like this Sebastian character.  
  
"Sorry about that," Blaine said as he came to lean against the couch next to Kurt. "Seb can be…"  
  
"Crass? Rude? Annoying?" Kurt supplied.  
  
Blaine lifted his eyebrows and then laughed. "Oh god, you already don't like him."  
  
"What's to like?"  
  
"He isn't all that bad."  
  
Kurt felt suddenly nervous. "You two aren't… I mean are you dating or together? Or…"  
  
"No! Uh, no way. He keeps asking, but no. Let's just say Sebastian and I are looking for different things."  
  
Kurt glanced over to where Sebastian was already flirting with another one of the Warblers.  
  
"Sebastian wants a quick lay," Kurt said, surprised at his own boldness.  
  
"That's for sure."  
  
"And what do you want Blaine Anderson?" Kurt said and nudged him with his shoulder.  
  
Blaine smiled and then glanced down at the ground bashfully. "I guess I want… romance. I want a relationship. I want love." He glanced up at Kurt with wide golden eyes. "That sounds dumb."  
  
"No. No, it doesn't," Kurt said with a smile as his heart fluttered oddly in his chest. "That's what I want too."  
  
Blaine's smile brightened but then faltered a little. "With Cooper."  
  
"Cooper?" Kurt blinked. "Yes, of course, with Cooper. I've always wanted that for my Lifemate and me. I mean I thought I would be a little older and in New York, but… you don't get to choose those things."  
  
Blaine nodded. "I hope I don't get matched until I move to New York."  
  
"You're moving to New York?" Kurt said, surprised.  
  
"I mean, yeah, I think. I'm applying to NYU and Columbia. But also to USC and UCLA. I want to go to New York, but it would be weird to be that far from Cooper."  
  
"Because Cooper will be in California," Kurt said and looked away from Blaine.  
  
"I mean… um… I don't know. That was his plan but…"  
  
"It's okay, Blaine. I know Cooper and I have some big issues to work out."  
  
Kurt was silent for a moment before he spoke again steering the subject away from Cooper. "I've been meaning to ask. You're 18, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you are starting your senior year of High School?"  
  
"Oh yeah, that," Blaine said. "I, uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I lost a year. No, not lost a year. But I had to repeat my sophomore year."  
  
"Oh," Kurt said, surprised. Blaine didn't seem like the kind to be held back.  
  
"I used to go to Central," Blaine said. "Westerville Central High? Some… bad things happened there and I transferred to Dalton."  
  
"Some bad things?" Kurt asked softly, concerned about the look of pain and something like fear that had come across Blaine's usually cheerful face.  
  
"There was this Sadie Hawkins dance and I wanted to go, have a normal high school experience." Blaine sighed. "I asked this guy to go with me, he was the only other out guy at school. The dance itself was fine, but… um… afterwards."  
  
Kurt watched as Blaine's eyes got a distant look to them and he reached out for Blaine's hand rubbing his thumb over it. Blaine smile a little and continued.  
  
"We were in the parking lot waiting for Cooper to pick us up when some guys came and… well they beat the crap out of us."  
  
Kurt's breath caught in his throat.  
  
"Greg, my friend, was hurt but not too badly. I spent the next few months in the hospital and then physical therapy. Cooper wouldn't let me go back there. I restarted my sophomore year at Dalton. They have a zero tolerance bullying policy."  
  
Kurt swallowed and licked his lips, leaning forward. He didn't know what to say; his heart hurt for his friend. The idea of him in pain was upsetting.  
  
He noticed that Blaine seemed to be looking at his lips and Kurt glanced down at Blaine's, his heart skipping a beat.  
  
Neither of them got the chance to say anything else, though, as one of the Warblers came up excitedly.  
  
"Kurt! Trent just said you're part of New Directions? You have to tell us about Nationals. We Warblers are determined to make it there this year."  
  
Kurt glanced at Blaine who just smiled and nodded along with his friend. "It's a good thing you aren't in New Directions this year," he said. "Because this is the year of the Warbler!"  
  
Kurt noticed Sebastian watching Blaine from across the room but ignored him and smiled at Blaine's enthusiasm about the Warblers. He was happy to talk about show choirs, but he couldn't help the little tug on his heart at seeing Blaine look so upset as he had a moment ago... He just wanted Blaine to be happy. In fact, he was surprised by his sudden powerful desire to make Blaine smile. Kurt may not have much to do with Cooper yet, but Blaine… Blaine had been kind to him, had welcomed him, they were friends and Kurt was going to do his best to be a good friend to him in return.


	7. Part One: VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We head into some Kurt/Cooper territory in this part, which isn't my ship, but turned out that it sure is fun to write! Also heads up for some very slight biphobia. It is a lot less biphobia than we got from actual canon, and is quickly resolved.   
> Thanks for reading and as always your comments mean everything to me!

Cooper got back from California and the first thing he did when he got home was run through the house shouting Kurt's name. Blaine was at school and Kurt was upstairs working on an online class.  
  
When he heard Cooper yelling Kurt immediately tensed. Was something wrong? He rushed down the stairs, it wouldn't be his dad. His dad was fine because if something had happened Cooper wouldn't know about it first. Kurt stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Then it must be Blaine. Kurt's heart thudded painfully, what if something had happened to Blaine?  
  
When he found Cooper in the living room all of his worries vanished, Cooper had on the biggest most sincere smile that Kurt had ever seen him wear.  
  
"Kurt!" He shouted happily and then rushed forward wrapping Kurt up in his arms. "I got a call back! They liked my audition. They  _really_  liked it!"  
  
He pulled back laughing and looking like a young, happy kid. "I could actually get this part." He said. "Wow, I  _could actually get this part._ " He seemed surprised by that fact.  
  
"That's great Cooper." Kurt said feeling a little out of place with Cooper's extreme happiness. "Really, congratulations."  
  
"I still have to do well on the comeback audition. So it isn't set in stone yet, but…" He sighed happily. "You and I should celebrate. How about we go out to a big fancy dinner?"  
  
"Okay." Kurt said glad of the chance to spend some time with Cooper. "I can text Blaine and tell him to meet us."  
  
"No, no. I texted Blaine already to tell him to hang out with friends or something this evening. I'd like to take you out Kurt, just the two of us, what do you say?"  
  
Kurt pushed his hair back from his head nervously taking in what Cooper had just said. "Out? Like… a date?"  
  
"Yes. A date."  
  
Kurt let out a tense laugh. "Really? Because… I... I would  _really_  like that."  
  
"Good. Then pick out something sexy to wear because you have a hot date tonight Kurt."  
  
Kurt laughed again and played nervously with the hem of his shirt. Was Cooper actually trying? Kurt didn't know where this was coming from, but he wasn't going to turn down the chance to spend some time with the husband that he hardly knew.  
  
Kurt put on a pair of white and black patterned pants that he knew for a fact looked good on him and then a black short sleeved button up shirt and a black and gold bowtie. It was simple but dressy and, per Cooper request, he felt like he looked sexy.  
  
Blaine stayed out with some Dalton friends instead of coming home so Kurt didn't get a chance to see him before he left for dinner. Kurt was a little disappointed because he was feeling really nervous and wanted to get some advice from Blaine first. It didn't matter though, Kurt could do this. It was just dinner, right?  
  
Cooper looked stunning as usual in a pair of nice dark wash jeans, a navy cardigan and tie and a light blue shirt. Kurt couldn't actually believe he was about to go out on a date with someone as singularity attractive as Cooper. In fact he couldn't believe he was going on a date at all – this would be his first.  
  
He hadn't mentioned to Cooper that he'd never been on a date before though; he didn't want to make it weird.  
  
Cooper whistled and winked at him when he came down stairs and Kurt laughed. "You don't look so bad yourself."  
  
Cooper took them to a nice Italian restaurant and he was perfect gentleman on the drive over, not talking only about himself, actually asking Kurt about his family and complimenting Kurt regularly. He was all charm.  
  
"You don't have to do say those things you know." Kurt said after Cooper told him again how amazing he looked.  
  
"I know." Cooper smiled sitting down across from him. "Just trying to make up a little for what an ass I've been, plus it's true."  
  
Kurt looked at him in surprise. " _Ah_ , so you know you've been an ass?"  
  
Cooper up at him in surprise before letting out a laugh. "Listen Kurt, I didn't think I was ever going to be paired. I'm almost 30 you know… and well, let's just say you came as a bit of a shock."  
  
Kurt nodded, feeling even more nervous for some reason. Was it just that Did Cooper didn’t expect to ever get a husband, or was it that he didn’t _want_ one?  
  
The waiter came and they ordered some appetizers and Cooper ordered a bottle of wine for them.  
  
"A bit of a shock?" Kurt asked after the waiter left. "Are you saying  _I_  was a bit of a shock or getting a Lifemate was a bit of a shock?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Yes." Cooper answered with a smile. "Yes to both."  
  
"Oh." Kurt wasn't sure what to make of that, but didn't get to pursue it further as Cooper launched into talking about his audition and the role he was up for.  
  
"You know what?" Cooper said excitedly. "You could help me with my lines. You're a performer right? I could use some feedback. I mean not right now, tonight isn’t about that, but before I go back to L.A. next week?"  
  
"Sure. I'd love to help." Kurt said honestly, happy with the change in Cooper. Working on lines with him would mean spending extra time together.  
  
Kurt started to feel more and more relaxed as the evening went on. He found himself laughing and joking with Cooper who seemed to be on cloud nine. Kurt wondered if this would be a good time to bring up the New York vs. California problem or if he should let them have one nice evening together first.  
  
The question was chased from his mind as they got through dinner and Cooper ordered them dessert and Kurt felt Cooper's foot start to move up his leg.  
  
" _Oh my god_." Kurt said under his breath as Cooper's foot moved further up. Cooper kept talking as if nothing was going on, except he had a devilish smirk on his face. Kurt didn't know if it was the wine or just that Cooper was in a really good mood, but soon Kurt was squirming in his chair with Cooper's foot between his legs.  
  
Kurt's breath started to come faster and he glanced down at his plate rubbing his neck and playing with his collar. It had suddenly gotten really warm in here. Cooper just kept grinning, obviously pleased with himself. Kurt drew in a sharp breath as Cooper pressed slightly against him and was surprised to find that he was getting a little hard.  
  
"I... Cooper..." Kurt stuttered out not knowing if he wanted Cooper to stop or not. Cooper chuckled when he pressed his foot against the growing bulge in Kurt's pants and chuckled when Kurt leaned over the table and drew in a sharp breath.  
  
Cooper winked and then a young couple walked by them on their way to their table and Kurt watched as Cooper's eyes followed them. He wondered for a moment if Cooper knew them, but then realized that no, Cooper was just checking them out… no he was checking the _woman_ out.  
  
Cooper turned back to Kurt like nothing had happened. "So how's school?" He said, his foot rubbing against Kurt's thigh. "What classes are you taking?"  
  
Kurt just stared at him the question not registering at all, any arousal he had been feeling quickly fading "I... what?”  
  
"You're taking classes this fall right? I mean Blaine mentioned something about-"  
  
"Did you just check out that woman?" Kurt interrupted scooting back so Cooper's wondering foot couldn't reach him.  
  
Cooper seemed surprised, "Did I... what woman?"  
  
"The one that just passed us."  
  
Cooper's foot dropped and he sat back up again glancing behind him. "I, uh, yeah, maybe. I didn't mean too."  
  
Kurt didn't know what was going on but suddenly he felt a little sick. "You are sitting there playing footsie with me and... and... Oh my god." Something Kurt hadn't even considered before dawning on him. He leaned forward. "Are you  _straight_?"  
  
Cooper's smile was gone and he looked more flustered than Kurt had ever seen him. "I... well. I wouldn’t say I was straight… no…”   
  
Kurt's eyes widened and his stomach dropped. "Are you into women? It's an easy question."  
  
“Okay but that’s not the same question is it?”   
  
Kurt just stared at him, feeling tense.   
  
Cooper sighed. "Yeah, I am. Into women."  
  
"Oh my god. Oh my god." Kurt moved to get up but Cooper leaned forward and grabbed his hand. "Wait. Kurt. That doesn't mean that I'm not also into guys. You have to know it isn’t always one or the other despite the fact that the registry only let’s you mark one preference."  
  
Kurt paused for a moment and then set back down his heart pounding in his ears. Okay, this was unexpected, but if Cooper was bi or pan, it wasn’t the end of the world, just a shock. "What did you mark on your Lifemate Registry?"  
  
"Kurt what does it matter?"  
  
"What did you mark?" Kurt's voice was high and tight and Cooper looked around to see if they were drawing any attention to themselves.  
  
"I marked a preference for females." Cooper answered sounding resigned.  
  
Kurt could feel tears forming in his eyes. He felt humiliated and lied too. "Oh god." He wanted to leave, but Cooper was still holding his hand across the table and Kurt's legs felt a little wobbly.  
  
"Kurt. I had to choose one or the other." Cooper said. "And yeah, I lean towards an attraction to women."  
  
Kurt let out a choked noise of distress.  
  
" _But_." Cooper continued. "I like guys too I really do. And I personally find you very attractive."  
  
Kurt tried to calm his breathing. This was something he had never considered when he was paired with a guy; he had just  _assumed_  it was a gay guy. Kurt shouldn’t care, he wouldn’t care that Cooper liked more than one gender if he hadn’t marked his registry asking to be paired with a _women_.   
  
"But… you… you're not just saying that,” Kurt took a deep breath; “You really like men too?" Kurt asked shakily.  
  
The waiter come to their table with their dessert, he could tell something was wrong and almost backed away when Cooper stopped him.  
  
"Could we get those to go and the check?" He asked and the man nodded and turned away.  
  
Cooper looked at Kurt and squeezed his hand a little. "I like men too Kurt. I wouldn't lie to you. More importantly I like _you_."  
  
Kurt's heart rate had started to calm and he nodded and wiped his face. "So you weren't disappointed when you got your Lifemate letter?" That was Kurt’s biggest fear. That Cooper had been disappointed to be paired with another man.  
  
Cooper opened his mouth and then closed it again.  
  
"Oh my god!" Kurt stood up. "You were!"  
  
Cooper stood up too. "No Kurt, not like that. It wasn't you.  _You've_  never been the problem. I just didn't want a Lifemate at all!" Cooper said desperately.  
  
Kurt knew people were watching them, but he didn't care, Cooper's words felt like a blow to the stomach. Kurt closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. He opened them again and looked around the restaurant and suddenly felt claustrophobic.  
  
"I'll… I'll wait in the car." He said and then all but ran out of the restaurant.  
  
Cooper met him in the car a few minutes later. A to-go box of dessert in his hand. How had everything gone so wrong so fast? They were silent on the drive back and as they walked into the house.  
  
"I'll just get some things and sleep in the guest room." Kurt said.  
  
Cooper let out a heavy sigh and stopped Kurt by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Kurt, what do you want from me?"  
  
Kurt turned to face him and Cooper seemed truly upset.  
  
"I could have told you all of that more gently, I know." Cooper said "But I wanted to be honest with you. Would it have been better if I lied?"  
  
"No." Kurt shook his head. He had his arms wrapped protectively around himself. "It explains a lot actually."  
  
Cooper took a step forward and placed a hand on Kurt's neck. "Listen Kurt, I'm sorry that all of this isn't… well it's obviously not what you wanted. But I want to do better, I really do."  
  
Kurt just nodded as Cooper stepped even closer. He gulped down the lump in his throat as Cooper leaned forward, and tilted Kurt’s face towards him. "Kurt." He said his lips inches away from Kurt's own. "Give me a chance, okay?"  
  
Kurt wasn't sure what to say, but it didn't matter, any opportunity to answer was gone as Cooper pressed his lip against Kurt's. Kurt just stood there for a moment, the only other kiss he had ever had was an unwanted one, and honestly he didn't know how he felt about this one.  
  
Cooper was gentle though; the hand on Kurt’s cheek moving to his neck and finally Kurt sighed and let himself kiss Cooper back. Their lips moved together and Cooper added a bit more pressure and it was… nice. Kurt lifted himself up on his toes and placed his hand on Cooper's shoulders as Cooper deepened the kiss. Okay this was _really_  nice.  
  
They broke apart and Cooper stayed close as he smiled. "You're a good kisser Kurt."  
  
Kurt could feel himself blush. "Um…" He cleared his throat. "You too."  
  
"Don't stay in the guest room." Cooper said. "Come to bed with me."  
  
Kurt stiffened, his eyes growing round.  
  
"No. No." Cooper laughed. "Not like that. Just… don't sleep in another room tonight? Okay? I'm not saying there is going to be any hanky-panky."  
  
Kurt laughed still feeling tense from this whole evening. "Hanky-panky?"  
  
"Not yet." Cooper said and smirked.  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes and nodded following him upstairs.

* * *

Blaine had been in the living room watching old reruns of  _I Love Lucy_  when he heard Cooper and Kurt get home. He hopped up from the couch to see how dinner had gone, but then stopped by the entryway when he saw them. Something was wrong. Kurt looked like he'd been crying and Cooper looked equally miserable.  
  
Blaine was about to turn away even though he didn't like to see either of them looking so distraught when Kurt turned to face his brother and both of them started moving in closer to one another. Everything within Blaine was telling him to leave, but for some reason he couldn't get his feet to move.  
  
And then they were kissing. Blaine didn't have a voyeuristic bone in his body, but still he couldn't make himself  _move_.  
  
Cooper and Kurt were kissing and suddenly Blaine felt… he felt… sick.  
  
He finally made himself turn away and retreated to the backyard breathing heavily, his chest tight and painful. What was wrong with him? Why did he feel like this? He took a few deep breaths of the cool evening air and tried to steady himself. He rested his hands on the back of a patio chair to brace himself and swallowed down the tears that threatened to choke him.  
  
Oh god no, this couldn't be happening. How did he let this happen? What was wrong with him? Because as much as he hated to admit it, his twisting stomach and aching heart told him the truth. He was falling, and falling hard for Kurt – for his brother's husband.

 


	8. Part One: VIII

Cooper was in town for a couple of weeks before he went back to California for the big callback audition. It was quite possibly some of the longest weeks in Blaine's life. It seemed like everything was going wrong for him. The biggest issue being his attraction to Kurt, though the word attraction didn't seem to cover it.  
  
Blaine had noticed from the beginning how utterly gorgeous Kurt was, but now his feelings were growing, he liked Kurt,  _really_  liked him. For who he was; smart, and funny and a little bit snarky and so very kind. Blaine did everything he could to stomp these feelings down but every time he saw Cooper brush his hand against Kurt's or lean down to kiss him, or rest a hand on the small of his back Blaine thought he might go crazy.  
  
Kurt still blushed every time Cooper showed him any physical attention, and then he would lean into the touch or return the kiss. The only thing that kept Blaine's heart from fracturing completely was that Kurt never seemed to initiate these gestures. It was always Cooper. That was something at least.  
  
Another trouble was the Warblers. The school year had just recently started and there was already a dramatic shift in the Warblers behavior and direction. Blaine knew why, the problem was Hunter Clarington.  
  
Hunter had moved to Ohio from Colorado Springs over the summer and had started to get to know some of the Warblers. Then when school started up he joined and immediately some of the other Warblers nominated him for the Council. Apparently he led his Military Academy School Choir to a Regional's victory last year.  
  
Before Blaine even knew what was happening Hunter, Sebastian and himself had been voted onto the Council leaving Trent out. And just a few weeks in, the whole feel of the Warblers had changed.  
  
"He's just one guy." Kurt said sitting at Blaine's desk one day as Blaine flopped back on his bed after a long and frustrating practice with the Warblers. "How does he have so much influence?  _You've_  been there 3 years  _and_  are the lead singer."  
  
"Not anymore." Blaine sighed. Kurt was always so good about listening to his troubles at school, and he wasn't a stranger to show choir drama. "The Warblers voted not to have a lead this year, even though that's always been our strategy."  
  
"Oh." Kurt said looking surprised. "I'm sorry Blaine that must be disappointing." He got up from the chair and crawled onto the bed sitting down next to Blaine. Blaine couldn't speak for a moment trying to get his heart to settle down.  
  
Eventually Blaine sat up and crossed his legs sitting to face Kurt. "I don't mind not being the lead singer; I just want us to be a group again. A team. I feel like we have factions and agendas and I know Hunter is planning something he hasn't told either Seb or I about."  
  
Kurt worried his bottom lip and nodded before taking Blaine's hands into his own. The warm press of Kurt's hands made Blaine shutter slightly.  
  
"Rachel and I fought all the time in Glee club." Kurt said. "And there were always people vying for the spotlight, but at the end of the day we always managed to come together as a group. They're your friends; give it time to all shake out. It will be okay."  
  
Blaine smiled. "Thanks Kurt."  
  
"I haven't done anything."  
  
"You listen and you help me not go nuts. I can get overly worked up about show choir. Seriously I can be a little obsessed."  
  
Kurt laughed. "Not obsessed, passionate."  
  
Blaine smiled bigger and felt his heart leap a little.  
  
Kurt's phone let out a little ping and Kurt let go of Blaine's hands to retrieve it from his pocket, a shy smile crossing his face as he read the text message.  
  
"Cooper is live-texting his wait at a coffee shop." Kurt said.  
  
The phone pinged again and Kurt laughed. "He doesn't even seem nervous about his audition tomorrow at all."  
  
"Well, that's Cooper. He always covers his nerves with jokes." Blaine smiled, but it felt forced.  
  
Kurt was typing out a message as his phone pinged again. He looked up at Blaine. "Hey, would it be okay if I called him real quick? He has a meeting with his agent soon and then dinner plans and I want a chance to talk to him before the audition in the morning."  
  
"Of course." Blaine said quickly. Kurt had been helping Cooper run lines for the last few weeks and he knew if Cooper was nervous Kurt would be able to help. "You don't have to ask permission to call your hus- to call Cooper." Blaine said, mouth feeling dry.

  
"I know. But I want to talk more about the Warblers I do." Kurt said getting up and squeezing Blaine's knee. "Put a pin in it and we'll take up where we left off okay?"  
  
Blaine nodded as he watched Kurt leave the room, putting the phone up to his ear. "Hey Cooper!" He said as he walked away.  
  
Blaine groaned and fell back down on the bed covering his face with his hands. He was in such deep trouble. It hurt so much to see Kurt and Cooper getting along so well, and he felt incredibly guilty for it. He wanted them to be happy. He had to get over Kurt; he couldn't keep going on like this.  
  
Blaine's phone buzzed and he picked it up from where it laid on the bed next to him. It was a text from Sebastian.  
  
_Hey sexy. What are your plans for the evening?_  
  
Blaine rolled his eyes, this was the last thing he needed right now.  
  
_Homework. Dinner. Probably some Netflix_.  
  
_Boooooring._ Sebastian texted back.  _How about you have dinner with me? I could make it worth your while._  
  
Blaine sat up and leaned his back against the headboard letting out a sigh of frustration. Why wouldn't Sebastian get the point? He was about the text back turning him down when he heard Kurt laughing from down the hall. His chest ached a little and he looked back down at Sebastian's text.  
  
_What did you have in mind?_ He sent the text fast before he could have second thoughts  
  
He waited a moment and then his phone rang. It was Sebastian.  
  
"Hello Seb."  
  
"Well is it my  _lucky_  day?" Sebastian answered. "You want to have dinner and then some?"  
  
Blaine let out a huff of air. "How about just dinner?"  
  
"I can work with that babe."  
  
"And you don't call me babe."  
  
"Sure. Sure. Whatever you want. Tonight will be all about you. I promise." Blaine could almost picture the sly smirk on Sebastian's face. "I'll pick you up in an half an hour?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"This is a date, right?" Sebastian asked and he almost sounded a little nervous.  
  
Blaine bit his lip and then looked towards to door knowing Kurt was a few rooms down talking to Cooper and probably flirting with him.  
  
"Yeah." Blaine said. "It's a date."  
  
"Great." Sebastian said sounding pleased. “Oh, you know those tight dark blue jeans you have? You should wear those, your ass looks edible in them."  
  
"Sebastian, don't make me regret this."  
  
"Fine." Sebastian laughed. "Wear what you want, or nothing at all. I'm easy to please. See you soon." Sebastian said and hung up before Blaine could reply.  
  
This was a bad idea. Blaine knew it was, but for some reason he just didn't care.  
  
Blaine got dressed wearing a mustard and black plaid long sleeved shirt, a black vest that made his waist look narrow and his shoulders broad and mustard bow tie and black jeans rolled up at the ankles.  _Not_  the jeans Sebastian had requested. He looked in the mirror and blew out a breath. He looked good, but it felt all wrong going out on a date with Sebastian.  
  
He made his way downstairs to find Kurt in the kitchen.  
  
"How's Cooper?" Blaine asked and leaned against the doorframe watching Kurt look through the refrigerator.  
  
"Good. But I think you're right, he's nervous. I was thinking we could make some chicken parmesan for dinner." Kurt said turning around and then stopping. "Um." He blinked. "You look  _great_. I mean… good. I mean…" He ran a hand over his hair. "Dressed up. Are you going somewhere?"  
  
"Out with Sebastian actually." Blaine said.  
  
"What? Like out with Sebastian and some of the Warblers?"  
  
"No… uh. He asked me out and I said yes." Blaine pushed off the doorframe and stuck his hands in his pockets. He watched as Kurt braced his hands against the counter and leaned back on it.  
  
"You're kidding."  
  
"No I… just… I mean why not, right?"  
  
"Because you want romance and a relationship and... and love. You said so yourself." Kurt answered his cheeks were turning red and he looked upset.  
  
"Well, yeah sure." Blaine said frustrated. "I do want those things, but that doesn't mean I can't have some fun along the way." He threw his hands out. "We all need a little fun."  
  
"But you know what fun with Sebastian means."  
  
"It's just dinner." Blaine said. "Nothing more.”  
  
"But-" Kurt was cut off by the doorbell ringing.  
  
"Listen, I'll catch you later okay?" Blaine said feeling a little lost at the look on Kurt's face, he didn't really understand why this was making Kurt so upset.  
  
"Blaine I just…" Kurt started.  
  
Blaine sighed "I have to go." He turned and went to answer the door. Sebastian stood there with a grin on his face and looking rather handsome in a nice pair of jeans and a green button up shirt that matched his eyes.  
  
Sebastian nodded at Kurt who had followed Blaine and was standing behind his shoulder. "Kurt."  
  
"Sebastian." Kurt said narrowing his eyes.  
  
Then Sebastian turned back to Blaine his eyes making their way up and down him. "Mmmmm, like I said. Sex. On. A. Stick." He handed him a card and Blaine looked down to see it was a fake ID with his picture on it.  
  
"Blake Owen Clark?" Blaine read.  
  
"Hey, it's a good fake." Sebastian said. "You should have seen the ones I was using a year ago."  
  
Kurt walked up a stony look on his face. "Why does he need a fake ID at all?"  
  
Sebastian smirked. "Because we are going to Scandals, it's a gay bar in West Lima. Thanks for asking  _mom_."  
  
"Seb don't." Blaine said trying to ease the obvious hostility between him and Kurt. He looked back and forth between the two of them. Sebastian raised his eyebrows and smiled coolly and Kurt had his head tilted and a glare on his face.  
  
"Listen Kurt, its fine. I'm not going to do anything dumb." Blaine said.  
  
Kurt opened his mouth to speak but then stopped as Sebastian grabbed Blaine's hand and tugged him out the door. "We should get going." He looked back at Kurt with a sneer. "Always good to see you."  
  
Blaine followed Sebastian out and gave Kurt and apologetic little shrug.

* * *

Kurt shut the door behind Blaine and Sebastian and stood there a moment catching his breath. He really didn't like Sebastian and he didn't understand what had just happened. Had Blaine really just left hand in hand on a date with Sebastian Smythe? To go drinking at a gay bar no less?

  
Kurt leaned his head against the door. How was this happening? He walked back to the kitchen and decided to just make a sandwich for dinner, but once it was made he found he couldn't eat. He felt physically sick at the thought of Blaine and Sebastian out together.  
  
What was Blaine thinking? Why would he go out with Sebastian? And why did it bother Kurt so much?  
  
Kurt went and got some of his homework and flopped down on the couch turning on the TV letting a marathon of Hell's Kitchen play in the background as he tried to concentrate on his work  
  
He didn't get much done. He kept glancing at the clock and wondering how long Blaine would be out. He picked up his phone a few times thinking he should text Blaine and see how things were going, but he didn't want it to seem like he was checking up on him.  
  
After sloppily finishing a few projects Kurt finally gave up on homework, he'd probably have to do those assignments again later anyway. He half-heartedly watched Gordon Ramsay yell at the chefs before he finally drifted off into a troubled sleep.  
  
He woke a few hours later hearing the front door close and something crash to the ground and break. He jumped up from the couch and rushed to the door where he found Blaine on the floor trying to pick up pieces of the broken glass key tray he must have knocked off the front table.  
  
"Blaine."  
  
Blaine looked up with wide, unfocused eyes. "Kurt!" He called much too loudly. "I broke the tray Kurt. I was trying to be quiet and not wake you!" He started laughing. "Oops!"  
  
He then went back to picking up pieces. Kurt rushed to him and crouched down gently stopping his hands. "Wait, don't. You're going to cut yourself."  
  
"I… I mess a made." Blaine said and giggled.  
  
"Blaine. Are you  _drunk_?" Kurt took a second look at him. His hair was messed up, like his hands had run through it, or someone's hands had run through it. His bowtie was gone and his shirt was unbuttoned at the top and untucked at the waist.  
  
"I'm not drunk!" Blaine said affronted. "I hardly drank any-anything!"  
  
Kurt shook his head and helped Blaine to his feet. "Whoa there killer." He said as Blaine wobbled a little bit.  
  
" _Mnotdrunk_." Blaine slurred.  
  
"Okay, okay. You're not drunk if you say so."  
  
Blaine leaned on Kurt as they walked to the stairs.  
  
"What about the mess?"  
  
"I'll clean it up later, let's get you in bed."  
  
"But I wanna dance with you Kurt!"  
  
"Not now." Kurt said with a smile and got Blaine to his room.  
  
"But I danced with Sebastian. A lot. And now I want to dance with Kurt."  
  
He helped Blaine sit down on the bed and Blaine immediately flopped backwards. "I had fun." Blaine said and started giggling again.  
  
"Well good." Kurt answered, but he was starting to get more and more upset as he saw how drunk Blaine was.  
  
Kurt started pulling Blaine's shoes off him as Blaine got comfortable in the bed.  
  
"I'm so hot!" Blaine said and sat up enough to pull his vest over his head and then he started unbuttoning his shirt.  
  
Kurt turned to get him some pajamas. He dug through Blaine dresser until he found a soft t-shirt and some pajama pants, when he turned back he found Blaine was lying on the bed not wearing anything but his undershirt and boxers.  
  
Kurt felt really warm himself suddenly. "I… um…" He held out the clothes. "Here are some PJs."  
  
"No. Too hot." Blaine said. "Kurt!" He sat up again, "Kurt!  _Kurt_. I'm  _so_  drunk!" He started to laugh again. "I've never been this drunk."  
  
Kurt clenched his jaw, how had Sebastian let him get like this? Then he noticed something else. There were small red marks all over the side of Blaine's neck. He tossed the PJs down on a chair and climbed up next to Blaine to get a better look.  
  
"Are those…  _hickeys_?"  
  
Blaine reached up and touched his neck. "Mmmmm, felt good."  
  
Kurt could feel himself shaking he was so mad. If Sebastian had taken advantage of Blaine… He closed his eyes and stifled a shout. He was going to  _kill_  Sebastian.  
  
Kurt moved to get up from the bed, but Blaine caught him by the wrist.  
  
"Don't go." He said and looked at Kurt with such wide puppy eyes that Kurt couldn't move.  
  
"Will you stay?" Blaine asked and scooted over in the bed, patting next to him for Kurt.  
  
"I…" Kurt looked down at the bed and then up at Blaine's sweet and earnest expression.  
  
"I don't feel so good anymore." Blaine said and winced. "Please stay."  
  
Kurt just nodded. He slipped his own shirt off, but left on his pants and undershirt. Blaine crawled under the covers and then lifted them for him. Kurt bit his lip, but then just went for it. He was just going to sleep next to him. No big deal. He had done the same thing dozens of times with Mercedes and Tina and Rachel at their slumber parties. He was just being a good friend.  
  
He slipped in next to Blaine and settled down in the comfortable bed.  
  
"'ank you Kurt." Blaine said with a yawn.  
  
Kurt stiffened a little when Blaine looped his arms around him and rested his head on Kurt's shoulder. But it felt so good to have Blaine close that he relaxed almost immediately.  
  
"Good night Blaine" Kurt said and Blaine hummed out a response. He was asleep in moments.  
  
Kurt laid awake for a little while alternately thinking about how warm and cuddly Blaine was and about how he was going to skin Sebastian alive if he had done anything more than those hickeys to Blaine.  
  
Kurt woke the next morning and turned towards where he thought Blaine would be. But nothing was there. He opened his eyes and found Blaine's side of the bed empty. He got up and stretched and then headed towards his room. He took a shower and got dressed and then went downstairs.  
  
Blaine was in the kitchen pulling a skillet out of a cupboard and apparently getting ready to make breakfast.  
  
"You're up and cooking?" Kurt said surprised. "Don't you have a hangover?"  
  
Blaine didn't turn around to face him. "I've been up for a while. A shower and a lot of water have helped with the hangover. And I cleaned up the tray I broke. And I heard greasy food helps a hangover."  
  
Kurt noticed Blaine's tense shoulders and the stiff way he was holding himself. "You okay?"  
  
Blaine's shoulders slumped and he turned around to face Kurt. "I'm just… embarrassed. About last night."  
  
"Ahhhh." Kurt said with a smile. "You're kind of adorable when you're drunk, so don't worry about it."  
  
Blaine blushed and let out a nervous laugh. "I don't remember it so well, but… did I ask you to dance?"  
  
Kurt's smile brightened. "Yes you did."  
  
Blaine groaned. "I am so sorry."  
  
"Don't be. Like I said,  _adorable_. How about some coffee?" Kurt said changing the subject to spare Blaine any more embarrassment.  
  
"We're out of coffee actually. I've wanted to have some since I got up hoping it'd help with this headache."  
  
"Tell you what." Kurt smiled. "You start breakfast and I'll go get us a couple of cups of coffee from that little shop down the street."  
  
"Sounds good." Blaine said.  
  
Kurt headed out giving Blaine a chance to recover from his embarrassment.  
  
He got to the coffee shop and was glad to see it wasn't too crowded. He ordered a mocha for himself and a medium drip for Blaine; it was what he always ordered. He froze on his way to the door. Of all the people to run into Sebastian Symthe was sitting alone at one of the tables nursing a large coffee and reading.   
  
Kurt scowled. This would be the perfect time to confront Sebastian without Blaine around. He sat down across from Sebastian and dove in without any greeting. "What did you do to Blaine last night?"  
  
Sebastian looked up from his book. "Well good morning to you too."  
  
"He came home drunk and disheveled and with hickeys on his neck.  _What did you do_?"  
  
Sebastian marked his place in his book and smiled. "It was a date Kurt, some hickeys and dishevelment may happen."  
  
Kurt felt like steam was coming out of his ears. "Sebastian, he was drunk.  _Really drunk_. If you took advantage of him…"  
  
"Oh don't worry, nothing happened that Blaine didn't want."  
  
Kurt stood abruptly almost knocking his chair over and placed his hands on the table leaning over it towards Sebastian. "You… you…I am going to-" Kurt couldn't even complete a sentence he was so angry.  
  
"Whoa! Calm down! We made-out some, and yeah I gave him those hickeys, nothing else happened. I promise."  
  
Kurt breathed through his nose and then slowly sat back down. "You didn't…" He waved his hand in the air.  
  
Sebastian folded his hands on the table and leaned forward. "No we didn't have  _sex_. You obviously have a very low opinion of me, but I don't get guys drunk and take advantage of them to get laid. When Blaine and I do it, _and we will_ , we will both be sober and enjoying ourselves."  
  
Kurt clenched his fist. "You just dropped him off drunk at the doorstep then?"  
  
"Listen I was a little tipsy myself and I knew if I walked him to the door he'd invite me in, and if he invited me in things might have gotten a little fuzzy. I want Blaine. I won't lie, but not like that."  
  
Kurt relaxed into the chair a little. It seemed like Sebastian was being sincere. “I don't like you." He said  
  
Sebastian smiled. "I don't like you either."  
  
"You aren't good enough for Blaine."  
  
"And you're married to his brother.”  
  
"W-what?"  
  
Sebastian sneered at him. "Stop acting like I'm encroaching on your territory. Blaine isn't yours."  
  
"I…" Kurt blinked his stomach dropping.  
  
"I think we're done here." Sebastian said grabbing his book and standing to leave. He turned to face Kurt one last time. "I'd get over your little crush on Blaine fast if I were you. Cooper may not be the brightest bulb, but you wouldn't want him catching on." And with that he left.  
  
Kurt sat at the table for a long time, his mind a mess and his heart skipping. He didn't have a crush on Blaine. It wasn't like that. Blaine was his friend, probably his best friend; he cared about him, but… not like that. Right?  
  
Kurt eventually got up and made it back home. The coffee was cold, but Blaine didn't mention it. He just thanked Kurt and served him breakfast.  
  
Kurt watched as Blaine sat and ate and talked while wearing an infectious smile. Kurt didn't have a crush, he didn't. He watched Blaine's face, noticing his full lips and gorgeous smile, and the way his eyes danced when he was happy. Kurt's heart skipped a beat and he wanted to cry. He didn't have those kind of feeling for Blaine because he _couldn't_ , life wasn't that cruel.


	9. Part One: IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Just FYI there is some Kurt/Cooper smut in this part (but also Klaine feels!), if you needed to be warned for that. :)

t was uneasy the next couple of days before Cooper got home. As much as he wanted to he couldn’t deny that he had feelings for Blaine, but he couldn’t do anything about them either. He thought about avoiding Blaine all together, but Blaine had become such a big part of his life he knew that wouldn’t work. Blaine was his best friend and he didn’t want to lose that. Kurt would just make sure they remained friendly and nothing more. It wasn’t like Blaine felt the same way anyhow.  
  
“Some guys from Dalton and I are going out tonight. Dinner and a movie.” Blaine said looking up from his phone. “Wanna come?”  
  
Kurt wanted to say yes, but Cooper was coming home that evening. “I’d love to Blaine, but I think I should be here when Cooper comes in. I don’t know how things went in L.A.”  
  
“Right. Okay.” Blaine said with a smile.  
  
“Wait.” Kurt sat up from the couch where he’d been reading the latest issue of Vogue while Blaine sat nearby working on homework and texting his friends from school. “Will Sebastian be there?”  
  
“Um…” Blaine blushed a little. “You know, he  _can_  be kind of nice.”  
  
“So yes, he will be there?”  
  
“Yeah… we’re, I don’t know, we’re together now? Or something?” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked so sweet and gorgeous that Kurt had to bite his lip not to blurt out how Blaine shouldn’t be with Sebastian but be with someone who actually cared about him.  
  
“Right.” Kurt answered instead. “Just what everyone wants, a boyfriend that ‘ _can be kind of nice_.” Kurt said using air quotations. His voice came out a lot sharper than he had meant for it too.  
  
Blaine furrowed his brow and then got up from his chair. “You know what Kurt, not everyone is paired with their Lifemate, I know nothing between Sebastian and I will last, but maybe it’s nice to not feel alone.” He rubbed a hand down his arm and looked upset.  
  
Kurt immediately regretted his words. “I know… I’m sorry I didn’t mean too…” He looked at Blaine and smiled a little sadly. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”  
  
Something flashed across Blaine’s face that he couldn’t quite read before Blaine hung his head. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”  
  
He left the room to get ready to go and soon left the house with a little wave and smile for Kurt that broke his heart a bit.  
  
Kurt was lost in his thoughts while he waited for Cooper. A few hours after Blaine left the front door burst open and Cooper came in ushering in all the energy and enthusiasm he usually did.  
  
“Kurt!” He shouted as Kurt came to the foyer to greet him. He ran up and wrapped Kurt securely in his arms and before Kurt could even take a breath Cooper’s lip were on his, kissing him fiercely.  
  
“Um… whoa.” Kurt said when Cooper broke away but then he started trailing kisses down Kurt’s jaw and over his neck. Kurt’s knees swayed a little. He had no idea how good that could feel.  
  
“Cooper?” he said as Cooper kept working over his skin, making him feel hot all over. “I… I… just… not that I...  _Oh god that’s nice_.” He groaned and knew that it was mainly Cooper’s arms around him that kept him on his feet.  
  
Copper pulled back a little and smiled down at Kurt. “I got the part.” He said eyes sparkling.  
  
“You… You got the part?”  
  
“I got the part!” Cooper was practically bouncing while still keeping his hands on Kurt’s lower back.  
  
“You got the part!” Kurt said again. In the back of his mind he knew this could only mean trouble for his plans of moving to New York, but right now he could put that thought on hold and be happy for Cooper. “That’s… that’s wonderful! We need to celebrate!”  
  
“Oh I plan too.” Cooper said in a gravelly voice and again his lips where on Kurt working down his neck to his shoulder, Cooper pulled Kurt’s sweater down to reveal more skin and started sucking on his pulse point.  
  
“Oh…  _oh_.” Kurt said eyes fluttering closed.  
  
One of Cooper’s hands moved from Kurt’s back to his ass and squeezed, Kurt let out a little whimper.  
  
“Upstairs.” Cooper breathed and Kurt could only nod.  
  
“I’ve been thinking about you all the way home and I just…” Cooper made a noise that almost sounded like a growl and Kurt’s stomach flipped over.   
  
As soon as they soon found themselves in their shared bedroom Cooper walked them back to the bed all the while tugging on Kurt’s sweater to get it over his head. The back of Kurt’s knees hit the bed and he sat down and then crawled backwards as Cooper kept coming forward.  
  
Cooper tackled Kurt’s undershirt next throwing it aside and then going for Kurt’s belt.  
  
“Coop…. Cooper.” Kurt said trying to catch his breath; this was all going really fast, he was already half-naked and he’d never been this exposed to someone in this way.  
  
Cooper leaned over him and gave him a long deep kiss that left Kurt feeling like jelly and any protest melted in his mind. Then Cooper started working on his belt again and soon it was unbuckled and Cooper was undoing Kurt’s pants and pulling them down and off of him.  
  
Kurt looked down at his nearly naked body and could see his skin flushing pink. He was nervous but it all felt so good.  
  
“Fuck Kurt, you’re so hot.” Cooper said and started to kiss and nibble at Kurt’s shoulders and then down his chest.  
  
Kurt’s heart was beating a mile a minute and his thoughts were cloudy and then his mind froze all together as Cooper’s mouth worked its way down until it got to the hardening bulge in Kurt’s briefs and Cooper started mouthing over Kurt’s half-hard cock.  
  
“Oh my god!” Kurt cried out. He was propped up on his elbows but tilted his head back as Cooper mouth went to work. Kurt blinked rapidly and then gently pulled Cooper back up by his hair. “W-Wait.” Kurt said. “You… I mean.” He swallowed. “What’s happening here?”  
  
Cooper’s eyes raked over Kurt’s body and he then stood up from the bed. He quickly pulled off his own shirt and kicked off his shoes, he slipped out of his pants and then knelt back on the bed one knee on either side of Kurt’s legs.  
  
“What do you think is happening here?” He said in a husky voice and for a moment Kurt forgot he’d even asked a question.  
  
Cooper leaned back down and started kissing him again his mouth hot on Kurt’s. Kurt placed his hands on Cooper’s back feeling his toned muscles and smooth skin.  
  
Cooper lowered himself down so that their cocks brushed together through the thin fabric of their underwear.  
  
Kurt let out a gasp and looked up at Cooper with wide eyes. “C-Coop-per. I just… I don’t…” Kurt knew he wasn’t making any sense but he couldn’t think right with Cooper’s hard erection hovering over his own.  
  
Cooper looked at Kurt’s face a long time and then quickly got up off of the bed putting some distance between them, “Am I going to fast? If you don’t want to do this, just say so Kurt.” Cooper said not-unkindly. “I only want it if you want it. You say stop and we stop right now.”  
  
Kurt looked at Cooper's long lean body, tan and muscled and gorgeous, god Hollywood was going to love him. He closed his eyes for a moment. What did he want? He knew he  _should_  want to be close to his husband, to want things to work out between them. To want to be wanted by Cooper. But, what did Kurt  _really_  want?  
  
He wanted Blaine.  
  
Kurt groaned, that was the last thing he needed to be thinking right now. He couldn't have Blaine, Sebastian was right, Blaine wasn't his. He had to get over this.  
  
Kurt opened his eyes again to find Cooper watching him with a dark hooded stare.  
  
"I want this." Kurt said and then surged up off the bed to kiss him. Cooper responded immediately, his hands roaming all over Kurt's sensitive skin pushing gentle forward until they toppled down on the bed again. Then he leaned over Kurt and brought their hips together again.  
  
Kurt tensed and gasped at the feeling. Cooper shifted his hips and slotted himself against Kurt making Kurt grip onto Cooper's back tightly. Cooper continued to kiss Kurt's neck and jaw and lips as he rocked himself back and forth grinding against Kurt.  
  
Soon Kurt was panting and kicking out his legs under Cooper as Cooper smiled and leaned further down putting more of his weight on Kurt.  
  
"Oh god. Oh god!" Kurt yelled out one hand leaving Cooper's back to curl around the bed cover and tug on in mercilessly.  
  
"Oh fuck Kurt!" Cooper shouted nipping at Kurt's jaw line as his started to moan. "Oh fuck yes!" He gripped Kurt’s hips lifting them off the bed a bit to bring their cocks together even more forcefully. Kurt bent a knee to help get the angle right.  
  
Kurt whimpered, his stomach tight, until Cooper's cock did a couple more drags against his own and then with a gasp his fingernails dug into the bedspread and he started to come.  
  
Cooper kept rocking their bodies together a few more times before he swore and Kurt could feel Cooper’s warm cum spreading through his briefs to mix with Kurt’s. Cooper collapsed beside him, body sweaty and flushed.  
  
They were both quiet for a long moment, Kurt blinking at the ceiling and trying to catch his breath.  
  
“ _Fuck_.” Cooper finally said before he rolled close to Kurt and placed a kiss on his neck.  
  
Kurt still didn’t feel like he could move. He felt the bed dip as Cooper rolled off of it and walked away. He slowly started coming back to his sense as the wetness in his underwear became uncomfortable, he could hear water running from the adjoining bathroom and then Cooper walked back in with a washcloth in his hand and nothing on, not even his briefs.  
  
Kurt took in a sharp breath and averted his eyes.  
  
“Hey.” Cooper said crawling back up in the bed and looking Kurt over. He was still lying frozen, not having moved since he’d come. “Kurt. You okay?”  
  
Kurt nodded and Cooper chuckled. “That a first for you?”  
  
Kurt turned his face to look at Cooper. “Um, yeah.”  
  
Cooper smiled and handed Kurt the washcloth. It was warm and damp. “Clean up a little.” He said and Kurt finally sat up and cleaned himself off, a little self-conscience with Cooper’s eyes on him. He got up and pulled off his underwear quickly putting on a pair of pajama pants. He was about to slip on a shirt as well when Cooper called out.  
  
“Oh, don’t do that. Leave it off.”  
  
Kurt looked back at Cooper who was still completely naked and lounging on the bed, half covered by the sheets. “Are you…  _sleeping like that_?”  
  
Cooper smiled and winked at him. “I like too.”  
  
“Oh.” Kurt put the shirt back down and crawled into bed next to Cooper who leaned over to flip off the lights.  
  
Cooper put his arms around Kurt for a moment and kissed him “Thanks Kurt. That was great.”  
  
Kurt felt loose and tired and couldn’t think of a response. It didn’t seem to matter though. Soon Cooper rolled back over to his side of the bed and Kurt could hear him softly snoring a few moments later.  
  
Kurt couldn’t sleep. He didn’t know what he expected from his first time, and he had to admit that had felt  _amazing_ , but something about it just didn’t feel right. Kurt covered his eyes with an arm and fought back his tears before he slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Blaine got home late and saw Cooper’s car in the driveway. He hoped he was still up so that he could ask how the audition went. He got into the house to discover Cooper luggage still sitting in the foyer. That was odd.

  
Blaine poked his head in the living room but no one was there, or in the kitchen. Maybe Kurt and Cooper had gone to bed. He went up the stairs passing the master bedroom on the way to his own when he stopped. He heard some kind of noise from his brother’s and Kurt’s room.  
  
It was a groan or a shout, where they fighting?  
  
And then Blaine heard it.  
  
Kurt’s voice hoarse and desperate like he had never heard it before. “Oh god! Oh god!”  
  
And then Cooper. “Oh Fuck yes Kurt!”  
  
Blaine’s brain wouldn’t process the sounds for a moment and then a mental picture of what was happening behind that door hit him.  
  
“No. Oh no. God no.” Blaine stumbled away from the door his heart pounding and his feet carrying him away as fast as he could move. He crashed into his own room feeling sick as he collapsed on his bed.  
  
“No no no.” He wanted to bury himself in his bed and get lost, but he couldn’t sit still.  
  
He looked around his room frantically and saw his boxing gloves in the corner. He grabbed them and ran back downstairs to the workout room. Within moments he had his gloves on, he started hitting the punching bag without thought.  
  
His body trembled and his breathing was heavy. His vision became blurry as he hit and hit until his whole body was sore and aching and a sob tore through his chest.


	10. Part One: X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my favorite chapters, I don't know why I'm just happy with it. Hope you like it too! I might have a couple more chapters ready before I take a break over the weekend.

Kurt woke the next morning and laid in bed for a moment just thinking and waiting for... something. He glanced over to find Cooper sleeping peacefully next to him. He stared at the ceiling for a long moment and expected to feel _different_. Wasn't sex meant to change everything?  
  
He had always pictured waking up and feeling happy and giddy, but instead he just felt  _lonely_. He glanced back over at Cooper’s sleeping form.   
  
He didn't love him. The thought hit him out of the blue. He didn't love Cooper and he didn't really think Cooper loved him either.  
  
Maybe that love would come in time, but... it didn't feel like it would. He liked Cooper a lot. He cared about him, but it wasn't anything more than that. Kurt bit his lip and tried not to cry before he got out of bed and went to take a long shower to collect his thoughts.  
  
When he got back to the bedroom Cooper was up and yawning and pulling on a pair of sweatpants. Even after last night Kurt felt himself flush at the sight of Cooper's bare backside.  
  
"Morning Kurt." Cooper said turning to face him with a smile.  
  
Kurt was drying his hair with a towel already dressed for the day, he returned Cooper's smile then sat on the bed and crossed his legs. "Cooper we need to talk." He said as Cooper rubbed his eyes and stretched. He was still shirtless and Kurt watched as his firm muscles stretched and flexed.  
  
Kurt wondered what Blaine would look like in the same position and immediately buried his head in his hand. That was exactly the kind of thought he had hoped a night with Cooper would chase from his mind.  
  
"Okay." Cooper said and plopped down next to him nudging him with his elbow. "What's wrong? Was last night not... good?"  
  
Kurt looked up at him and could tell from the smug look on Cooper's face that he already knew the answer to that.  
  
"Last night was good." Kurt confirmed though he left out the fact that he felt a little empty and lost this morning because of it. “We just need to talk about this movie deal you have, and you moving to California." Kurt had put this conversation on hold too long. They needed to figure this out.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Cooper said shrugging it off. "I have it all worked out."|  
  
“You do?" Kurt was surprised, maybe Cooper was more perceptive than he gave him credit for.  
  
"Yeah, the studio knows I can't move for another 10 months. I can keep my permanent resident address in Westerville and still spend most of my time out there."  
  
Kurt just stared at him incredulously. No, Cooper was in fact even  _less_ perceptive than he thought.  
  
"And what about me?"  
  
"Well..." Cooper said slowly as if he was thinking it through, like he had never even considered how Kurt fit in these plans at all. "You can come out there with me as often as you want. I could show you around L.A. and the movie set and everything. It will be good for when we finally get to move out there."  
  
Kurt had to take a deep breath to keep from yelling at Cooper and his obtuseness. Instead he closed his eyes and counted his breaths. "I have school here you know." He finally said.  
  
"It's just community college and you do it correspondence. You can do that anywhere."  
  
"Yes, for this first year and then I actually want to  _go_  to school Cooper."  
  
"There are great schools in California."  
  
"Cooper!" Kurt said springing from the bed. " _New York_ , my plan was always to go to New York. You  _know_  that. You know I was accepted to NYADA. And I knew that we were going to have to make some compromises, but you... you don't even care what I want. You expect me to just pack up and follow you wherever you go!"  
  
"Kurt..." Cooper said obviously surprised at his outburst.  
  
"No, how would you feel if I got us an apartment or something in New York City and expected you to just trot along behind me?"  
  
Cooper stood too putting his hands on his hips and staring him down from the other side of the bed. "This is my dream Kurt, it has been since I was a kid. You want me to just give it up?"  
  
"What about my dreams?" Kurt said throwing his hands out. "You want me to just give them up for you?"  
  
"New York isn't a dream, it's a place! You can study drama in California, it has really good schools!" Cooper was frustrated and his hands were shaking.  
  
Kurt clenched his jaw, the fight draining out of him. Cooper didn't know. He really didn't understand. He thought it was just about studying performing arts. Cooper didn't realize that New York was so much more than that to Kurt. And how could he know? Kurt had gone so long trying not to stir the water that he had never really talked to Cooper about it. Not that Cooper had gone out of his way to talk to Kurt either but still.  
  
Kurt's shoulders sagged. "No Cooper. New York, Broadway, NYADA, the whole culture there  _that_  is my dream.  
  
Cooper seemed to be calming down as well and he rubbed his hands down his face. "Well fuck." Cooper sat back down on the bed and Kurt joined him. "We should have talked about this sooner."  
  
"Yeah." Kurt agreed.  
  
"So do you not want me to take this job?"  
  
"No of course not. You have to take the job, I mean we have 10 months before we have to really do anything. You can commute like you were saying... just after that..." Kurt looked up at Cooper hopefully. "You can act from New York, lots of actors live in New York."  
  
"All my connections are in L.A. I. I kind of love L.A."  
  
"Right." Kurt said. "Great, that's only over 2,500 miles from where I want to be."  
  
"And by law we  _have_  to live together." Cooper added.  
  
Kurt tried to be offended by the fact that his husband would consider living across the country from him if he had the choice, but if Kurt was honest with himself, it was okay, he was thinking the same thing.  
  
"I was trying to make this work between us you know." Cooper said. “I was a little late with the trying, but I was trying.”   
  
Kurt nodded, "I know."  
  
"Blaine said I should try and I did want to try."  
  
Kurt could feel his cheeks heat up and his heart flutter pleasantly. "You… you were trying because of something  _Blaine_ said?"  
  
"He keeps telling me how great you are and how I wasn't giving you a chance… and I didn't want to be like that."  
  
Kurt tried to ignore the warm feeling those words gave him for Blaine and let out a long breath.  
  
"So, okay where does this leave us?" Cooper asked.  
  
"At an impasse."  
  
"Well, we aren't going to figure it out right now." Cooper said. "Let me think about it a little while okay? Think about New York, and we'll… we'll figure something out."  
  
Kurt nodded again his heart lifting a little bit at the fact that Cooper would at least consider New York. He didn’t love Cooper, but he still wanted goo things for him, for both of them.  
  
Cooper got up from the bed and headed towards the bathroom for a shower and Kurt went downstairs.  
  
It was Saturday so Blaine would be home all day. Kurt hoped he was up; he really wanted to talk to Blaine, to see Blaine, to be around Blaine. He felt like he was coming apart at the seams and Blaine always somehow knitted him back together again.  
  
But instead of Blaine he found a note on the kitchen counter.  
  
"Out for coffee with Sebastian. Not sure when I'll be back." Kurt’s heart shuddered in his chest.  
  
He sat down on a bar stool and stared at the note, his eyes began to water and then he started to cry, he folding his arms on the counter and rested his head against them as the tears poured out of him. Of course he wasn't in love with Cooper, he was in love with Blaine.

* * *

Blaine had done everything in his power to steer clear of Kurt since Cooper got home from California and he heard… He heard things he wished he could rub out of his mind.

  
It was hard to avoid someone you lived with though. So Blaine spent more time at Dalton after school, and worked longer hours on Warbler routines and took Sebastian up on every offer to go out.  
  
He and Sebastian hadn't moved past the making-out phase, not that Sebastian hadn't made his desires known, but Blaine didn't want that. Not yet at least, and not with Sebastian.  
  
Blaine had gotten into the habit of turning up some piano music on his laptop before he went to bed each night so if there was anything to hear from the room down the hall he would be spared it. The worst part was that he knew he should be happy. Cooper and Kurt were the two most important people in his life, what kind of villain was he if he didn't want to see them happy together?  
  
At first Blaine didn't think Kurt noticed that he was avoiding him, it just looked like he was really busy with school. But the longer he kept it up he could see the hurt in Kurt's eyes when he turned down an offer to watch Bravo or have dinner or get coffee. Kurt didn't understand why Blaine was pulling away, and how could he?  
  
Blaine felt awful, but this was all inevitable anyway. Eventually he'd move out and go to school and Kurt and Cooper would be alone together. Blaine had already decided if Cooper and Kurt ended up in California he was going to New York and if Kurt and Cooper ended up in New York, hello California! It would be hard to be that far from his brother, but it was for the best. For everyone.   
  
And it hurt to not spend time with Kurt and to think about being so far away from him, but it hurt to be near him and know that he was Cooper's and could never be his. So he kept up the distance.  
  
Meanwhile show choir Sectionals came and went. The Warblers performed really well, Blaine was proud of them. He had even worked it to get Trent a short solo to help make up for the fact that his friend hadn't made it onto the council.  
  
Kurt was there in the front row cheering when the Warblers won. He gave Blaine a big hug afterwards and if Blaine held onto him a bit longer than needed Kurt didn't mention it.  
  
"Blaine you were amazing!" He said with a huge smile on his face. "And you won! I'm so happy for you."  
  
Blaine let himself enjoy Kurt's closeness for that one afternoon. Cooper took all the Warblers, and Kurt, out for dinner and Kurt sat next to Blaine and everything felt right. It was a good day, but then Blaine retreated back. Being with Kurt pierced like a knife to the heart and he knew if he could just stay away these inappropriate feeling he had too fade. _They had too._  
  
Blaine was miserable though, Kurt had become his best friend and the Warblers were somehow slowly morphing more and more into a dictatorship with Hunter at the helm. Blaine so wished he could talk to Kurt about it, but he had to be strong and not get in the way of Kurt and Cooper's relationship.  
  
Blaine got home from school one day after a particularly rough Warblers practice to find Kurt in the foyer his hands on his hips and a stern look on his face.  
  
"Welcome home Blaine." He said.  
  
"Um... hi? Am I in trouble?"  
  
Kurt smiled a little and shook his head. "Come with me."  
  
Blaine tried to think of an excuse not to, but since he didn't know what was going on he couldn't come up with anything. Plus he was just  _so_  tired. He followed Kurt into the kitchen and was met with the smell of fresh baked cookies. Sure enough there were plates of cookies all over the counter. Sugar cookies, chocolate chip, cinnamon, M&M.  
  
"What's all this?"  
  
Kurt looked at all of the cookies a little sheepishly. "Sometimes when I'm stressed or upset I go overboard with the baking. But I thought, 'Hey Blaine has seemed stressed recently too, I bet he'd like some!" Kurt smiled and looked so hopeful that maybe Blaine wouldn't shut him down this time that Blaine wanted to cry.  
  
"Yeah, I... I'd like a couple."

  
Kurt bounced on his toes and grabbed two glasses from the cupboard, he got milk from the refrigerator and poured them both some and brought it over to where Blaine had settled down on a barstool.  
  
Blaine was already munching on a chocolate chip cookie when Kurt sat down across from him.  
  
"What are you upset about?" Blaine asked searching Kurt's face.  
  
Kurt sighed. "Cooper and I are trying to figure out our living arrangements for when the first year is over. The only thing we can agree on is that we don't want to stay in Ohio."  
  
"Is he considering New York?" This conversation was making Blaine's heart ache, but it was obvious Kurt needed someone to talk to.  
  
"He said he was, has he not mentioned it to you?"  
  
No, Cooper hadn't mentioned it to Blaine; he still talked like he was moving to California in 8 months. But Blaine didn't want to say that, he didn't want to get between Kurt and Cooper.  
  
"I... I don't know what Cooper's thinking." Blaine said evasively. "Would you move to California?"  
  
Kurt dunked a cookie in his milk and looked down sadly. "I don't know. I’ve been looking at schools in California, just in case. I mean if we can't come up with a solution then the Lifemate Registry will chose for us. I can see them picking California over New York since Cooper is working there. I feel so selfish but I… I just hate giving up the idea of NYADA and New York."  
  
Blaine nodded. "I could talk to him if you wanted, about New York?"  
  
Kurt smiled genuinely at him and Blaine's heart beat faster.  
  
"No, that's okay. I know you're already standing up for me with him, you shouldn't have to be in the middle." Kurt took a bite of his cookie and seemed to be watching Blaine closely. "How's school and the Warblers?"  
  
Blaine wanted to say that things with the Warblers weren't going well, that they fought almost every practice, that Hunter seemed a little ruthless and didn't care about the group as much as he cared about winning. But he didn't.  
  
"Fine." Blaine nodded and stood up from the stool, wiping his hands off on a paper towel. "It's fine. Um… I should go work on some homework. Thanks for the cookies." He turned to leave but then stopped when Kurt called out behind him.  
  
"What did I do?" He voice shook and sounded close to tears. "I'm sorry if I did something wrong, but I don't… I don't understand what is happening with us here."  
  
" _There is no us_." Blaine said hoarsely not turning around.  
  
There was a moment of silence in which Blaine immediately regretted his harsh words.  
  
"I thought we were friends." Kurt said so quietly Blaine almost did hear him. God, Blaine was such an idiot, what was he doing?  
  
He turned around to see Kurt's red eyes and face blotchy as he wiped his cheeks.  
  
"We  _are_  friends Kurt. We are… I just… I'm dealing with some stuff right now."  
  
"I could help maybe, if you'd let me in."  
  
Blaine smiled ruefully. "Kurt, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be mean, I just… I can't right now, okay?"  
  
Kurt nodded, but Blaine could tell he didn't understand and how could he? From Kurt's point of view, it must seem like his friend dropped him with no explanation and at a time when Kurt’s whole life was shifting. Blaine winched at the thought. He was being selfish, just because he couldn't control his own feelings he was hurting the last person in the world he wanted to hurt.  
  
Blaine turned away again with a sick feeling in his stomach and made it as far as the staircase before he spun around and ran back to the kitchen. Kurt was sitting on a bar stool looking misplaced and heartbroken.  
  
"I'm a jerk" Blaine said and Kurt looked up at him in surprise. "We  _are_ friends. Kurt you're my best friend and I'm sorry I've been so… weird the past few weeks. I miss you."  
  
A smile tugged on Kurt’s lips, but he still looked a little unsure. "You're my best friend too."  
  
Blaine was about to say more when his phone buzzed with a text from Sebastian.  
  
_Want to catch dinner and a show hot stuff?_  
  
Blaine sighed.  
  
"Is it from Sebastian?" Kurt asked his hopeful expression falling.  
  
"Yeah. He wants to go out."  
  
Kurt nodded again his whole demeanor changing. His back straightened and his shoulders squared and he set his jaw. "Well you should go."  
  
"Actually, I just saw him. Why don't we have an evening in, the two of us? Dinner, maybe watch a movie? Put a dent in these cookies." He said gesturing to the plates on the counter.  
  
"Really?" Kurt leaned forward his eyes sparkling.  
  
Blaine's heart twisted, but it didn't matter if spending time with Kurt hurt him, because the truth was he loved Kurt and he'd do anything he could to make him happy. "Absolutely."  
  
A huge grin spread across Kurt's face before he bounced up from the chair and gave Blaine a hug. "Good." He said as he held Blaine tight.  
  
Blaine hugged him back breathing him in. Kurt seemed to pull away from the hug slowly, but that was probably Blaine's imagination. When Kurt backed up he was grinning ear to ear in the way that made his eyes crinkle up, his hand was on Blaine's arm and it traveled down until their fingers were tangled together. Blaine looked down at their clasped hands and had to hold his breath. He glanced back up to Kurt's face, his cheeks were a little pink and his eyes dancing, but then he let go of Blaine's hand and took a step back.  
  
"Can we order dinner? I don't feel like more cooking."  
  
Blaine nodded. "Of course. This will be fun."  
  
Blaine had been so stupid trying to cut Kurt out of his life, maybe he couldn't have what his heart really wanted with Kurt, but he would treasure what he could have.


	11. Part One: XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little Christmas chapter on this rainy May day (at least it is raining where I am). And some Burt Hummel! Because we all need more Burt Hummel in our lives.

 

 

 

December came with snow covered yards and icicles dangling from rooftops. Kurt had always loved December – even if it did have a slight twinge of melancholy since his mother passed away – and since the last few months had been so tremulous, he intended to really enjoy the festive spirit.  
  
He and Cooper had talked about where to live a few more times, but hadn't made any headway. Both of them conceding that they could find something to do it the other’s city if they _had_ to, but neither of them giving in.   
  
They hadn't slept together again.   
  
Kurt had decided not to have sex or fool around with Cooper when he was so obviously not in love with him. It wasn't a hard choice to make really, he just kept remembering what his dad had told him the day he'd received his Lifemate letter; just because he was married he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to.  
  
And Cooper was actually pretty cool about it, after a few tries to see if Kurt was in the mood he backed off. The little touches and kisses between them had even slowly faded away.  
  
Really Cooper was more like a roommate than anything else at this point… a roommate that was gone most of the time and that his entire future was entangled with and whose younger brother Kurt was falling for. It was complicated.  
  
One part of Kurt's life that had gotten better was his friendship with Blaine. There had been a few weeks where Blaine had hardly talked to him, was never home and seemed intent on cutting Kurt out of his life. Kurt had spent many nights lying in bed clutching his pillow and crying. He understood that nothing could happen between him and Blaine romantically, he just didn't understand why they'd stopped being friends. And then… Blaine was back. Blaine never really explained what had happened, but he stopped pulling away from Kurt and Kurt finally stopped feeling so alone.  
  
Cooper had been in California over Thanksgiving and Blaine went to spend it with some relatives. Both Cooper and Blaine had extended an invitation for Kurt to join them, but in the end he'd gone back to Lima to spend time with His dad and Carole and Finn. Christmas though was going to be an Anderson-Hudson-Hummel affair. With Cooper, Blaine and Kurt staying at his dad's.  
  
"You really don't think Finn will mind sharing a room with me?" Blaine asked as he packed his suitcase. "You know we would have had more room for everyone here."  
  
Kurt smiled as he watched Blaine pack many more bowties than a person could possibly need for three days. God, why did Blaine have to be so endearing?  
  
"He won't mind and yeah, there's more space here, but it will be great. The Hummels do Christmas really well."  
  
Blaine smiled and turned to him. "You miss home don't you?"  
  
Kurt lifted his eyebrows, he felt like he'd been caught. "This is my home now."  
  
Blaine nodded, "But it doesn't feel like it, huh?"  
  
Kurt sighed and sat down next to Blaine on his bed. "No. It doesn't. Is that bad?  
  
Blaine shook his head and placed his hand on top of Kurt's. "No. It makes sense in a lot of ways. Especially since you know you're only here for a year, well seven more months now, I can see why this place wouldn't feel like home."  
  
"What's going to happen to the house when Cooper moves and you are in school? Do you plan on coming back to Ohio someday?"  
  
Blaine sighed and looked around his room. "No. Not really. Once I leave Ohio I think I'll stay gone. But I can't imagine selling the place. I hate the idea of it sitting empty and unlived in though…" He shrugged "I really don't know."  
  
"Have you made a decision on if you are going to school in New York or California?" Kurt said looking down at his lap and trying to sound casual, as if what side of the country Blaine was in wasn't something that kept him up at night with worry and longing.  
  
"It's hard to choose when… Um, well…"  
  
"When you don't know where Cooper will be?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Kurt huffed out a breath and was quiet for a while. Neither he nor Cooper seemed to be backing down from what they wanted which meant that the Lifemate Registry would have to get involved.  
  
"Blaine." He said looking up and catching Blaine's eyes. "You can do what you want. I mean you can do whatever it is you want. That's huge."  
  
Blaine blinked at him staring straight back into his eyes.  
  
"I don't have that luxury and I understand wanting to be close to the only real family you have, but… it's your life. What do you want to do? Where do you want to be?"  
  
"I want to go to New York." Blaine said without thinking and then seemed surprised at his own words. He closed his eyes for a minute and then smiled before looking back up at Kurt with an almost bashful look on his face. "I want to go to New York."  
  
Kurt smiled back at him and leaned forward a little, stopping himself just in time, he so wanted to plant a little kiss on Blaine’s temple. "I, uh…" He cleared his voice and scooted away a little. "You have the chance to do that. You should take it." Kurt said. "I'll probably end up in California."  
  
Blaine looked at him a long time before he spoke. "You never know Kurt. Cooper could change his mind and-"  
  
Kurt shook his head and stood from the bed. "No. No, my mistake I shouldn't have brought it up. Let's talk about something else."  
  
"...Okay." Blaine said reluctantly.  
  
"Like the Warblers, how are things going there? You think you'll do win at Regionals in February?"  
  
"Well." Blaine said shrugging. "We're up against the group that won Nationals last year." He winked. "But I heard they lost their counter-tenor who was really the main talent of the group."  
  
Kurt laughed. "Yeah, I bet you can beat them."  
  
"Do you really want the Warblers to beat New Directions? I mean, you still have friends there and it is your old club."  
  
"I know. And honestly I'd be happy for them if they won. If I were to choose though, I'd chose you."  
  
Blaine looked surprised, lifting his thick eyebrows, his mouth dropping open a little.  
  
"I mean! I'd choose the Warblers. I'd want the Warblers to win." Kurt said and could feel his cheeks heating up. "I know how hard you've been working and it's your senior year and…" He trailed off.  
  
"Thanks Kurt." Blaine said. "That means a lot to me."  
  
Kurt didn't get to respond as the door to Blaine's room burst open.  
  
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Fa la la la la, la la la la!" Cooper sang at the top of his lungs as he rushed into the room and tackled Blaine.  
  
" _Cooper_!"  
  
"Tis' the season to be jolly! Fa la la la la, la la la la!" He started tickling him.  
  
"Get... off of... me!" Blaine shouted, but it wasn't very convincing since he was laughing so hard.  
  
"Fa la la la la, la la la la!" Cooper sang purposefully off key and right into Blaine's ear before Blaine was finally able to push him off of him.  
  
Kurt just stood to the side and covered his laugh with a hand.  
  
Cooper bounced off the bed with a huge smile. "You next kid?" He said looking mischievously at Kurt.  
  
"Don't you  _dare_." Kurt answered backing away, but Cooper took a step forward. "I swear to god if try to tickle me…"  
  
Cooper laughed and held up his hands. "Fine. Fine. I wouldn't dare."  
  
Blaine was trying to smooth down his messed up hair. "How come he gets off the hook?"  
  
"Because Squirt. I think if Kurt wanted to, he could kill a man with a glance. Meanwhile, you have puppy dog eyes." He lifted a hand and remessed up Blaine's hair.  
  
"Cooper! That's it. I'm returning the gift I got you."  
  
Cooper just smiled bigger. "You say that every year."  
  
Kurt couldn't help the big smile on his face. He liked Cooper, they got along well and if you could get past Cooper obsession with himself he was a nice guy. But his favorite version of Cooper was as Blaine's big brother, because as much as Blaine complained and scolded Cooper, Kurt knew he loved it. And Cooper knew it too.  
  
"You both packed and ready to go? Because I am ready to get my Christmas on! And I have been promised a very merry Christmas as the Hummel-Hudson residence."  
  
Blaine nodded and then pressed down the top of his suitcase and tried to snap it closed. He would use an old fashion hard case suitcase instead of a new zipping one like a normal person. Kurt rolled his eyes and walked over, pressing down on the top so Blaine could close it. "Here let me help."  
  
"You packed too many bowties." Cooper said.  
  
"You don't even know how many bowties I packed."  
  
Cooper turned to Kurt and lifted an eyebrow.  
  
"Too many." Kurt confirmed.  
  
"I need choices!" Blaine said as he finally got the suitcase latched.  
  
They spent the ride to Lima singing loudly to Christmas carols and stopping for hot cocoa. Kurt couldn't help but wonder how things would have been if fate had paired him with Blaine instead of Cooper. He could have loved Cooper as a brother and been free to fall in love with Blaine, but it wasn't meant to be. Instead, he just took perfect moments like this and stored them up in his heart for the time when Blaine was off to school and Kurt would find himself alone and lonely married to a man he couldn't love.

* * *

Kurt hadn't been wrong about having a Hummel Christmas. It was lovely, the house was decorated and felt warm and inviting. Carole and Kurt kept making food and insisting on feeding everyone. Burt, Cooper and Finn got along really well. Finn was working in Burt's tire shop now and Cooper could talk cars with the best of them.

  
And then there was Kurt. Blaine had never seen Kurt smile and laugh so much. He wore comfy looking oversized sweaters and curled up on the couch and watched his dad and the rest of his family with sparkling eyes. Blaine was so glad he'd given up on shutting Kurt out of his life, because Kurt was… Kurt was everything. He made Blaine smile and feel brave and want to conquer the world.  
  
Blaine had decided to go to New York, it was what he really wanted and Kurt inspired him to live his dreams, he just wished he could do something for Kurt in return. He wished his brother would give New York a chance or… well, what Blaine really wished was that he'd been paired with Kurt, but that train of thought only led to trouble.  
  
It was late Christmas Eve and they had all stayed up eating popcorn and watching "It's a Wonderful Life." Blaine had admittedly mostly watched Kurt watch "It's a Wonderful Life". Now everyone was getting ready for bed and Blaine felt butterflies swarming in his stomach. He'd wanted to give Kurt his gift tonight. He hoped to give it to him privately instead of in front of everyone and his palms where getting sweaty trying to think of a way to pull Kurt aside.  
  
"Oh we really shouldn't leave these dishes for the morning." Carole said. "Who wants to wake up and do dishes first thing on Christmas?"  
  
"You made dinner sweetheart." Burt said. "I'll clean up."  
  
Blaine stood from where he'd been sitting. "Let me. You two have been gracious host. Let me do the dishes."  
  
"I can help." Kurt offered and Blaine smiled.  
  
"Well, I should argue." Carole said, "But I'm going to let you do it."  
  
It didn't take long for Blaine and Kurt to get the kitchen clean and all set up for breakfast the next morning. When they were done everyone else had made their way to bed.  
  
Kurt started towards the stairs, he and Cooper where in his old room together, a thought that made Blaine's stomach drop, Cooper and Kurt sharing a bed and the things they might be doing in that bed. "Well, goodnight Blaine."  
  
"Um. Wait." Blaine said walking towards the Christmas tree set up in the living room. "I have something I want to give you."  
  
"We are opening up presents in just a few hours." Kurt smiled and followed him.  
  
Blaine knelt down and grabbed the gift he'd wrapped for Kurt and stood back up taking a deep breath and smiling. "I know but I wanted to give you something now… when it was just the two of us."  
  
Kurt's beautiful blue eyes widened a little. "Oh?"  
  
Blaine chuckled and could feel himself blush as he handed the impeccably wrapped gift to Kurt. "Merry Christmas Kurt."  
  
Kurt took the gift and looked at it a moment, his fingers twirling the ribbon on top before he nodded towards the sofa and took a seat waiting for Blaine to join him. Blaine sat down cross-legged next him as Kurt kept playing with the ribbon.  
  
"Are you going to open it?"  
  
Kurt lifted it to his ear and shook it lightly. "I guess that would be that best way to find out what's inside." He started unwrapping the gift, delicately peeling off the wrapping paper without tearing it. He got to the black cardboard box underneath and smiled up at Blaine who was bouncing a little in his seat. Then Kurt opened the box and pulled out the gift.  
  
It was a snow globe. It had a dark wooden base and on the inside was the New York City skyline made out of shining silver metal. Blaine thought it was very tasteful not too bright and loud like many touristy snow globes. Kurt just stared at it for a long moment not saying anything and Blaine was beginning to think he didn't like it.  
  
"Um… here." Blaine said nervously taking the globe and turning it upside down to twist the knob that would make it play. He handed it back to Kurt and watched the New York skyline become a winter wonderland as tinkly music box version of "New York New York" played.  
  
Kurt just watched the snowfall and still didn't speak.  
  
"I know the song is a little cliché." Blaine said. "And… I mean it isn't the real thing. But I thought it could be a reminder of your dreams and you know… not to give up on them." Blaine was starting to think this had been a bad idea. "I mean I really believe that even if you do end up in California for a little while you are eventually going to make it there, because… that's where you belong and-"  
  
He stopped and his breath caught in his throat when Kurt looked up at him with shining vivid blue eyes.  
  
"You don't like it."  
  
Kurt just laughed and wiped his eyes before surging forward and wrapping Blaine in a tight embrace. "You gave me New York."  
  
"I mean… it's just a snow globe…"  
  
He heard Kurt sniff and felt him hold him closer. "No Blaine, it isn't." Kurt leaned back to look Blaine in the eyes but kept his arms around him. "Do you believe that? That I really will make it there someday?"  
  
"Of course I do." Blaine breathed barely able to speak with Kurt's face so close to his own.  
  
Kurt nodded and laughed again pulling away and looking down at the globe. "It's beautiful. I love it. If ever I start feeling down I'm going to look at this and remember that someone believes in me. That  _you_  believe in me."  
  
Blaine had to swallow to keep himself from getting choked up. Kurt looked back at him with the sweetest expression on his face. "Thank you Blaine."  
  
Blaine smiled back, his cheeks hurting from the force of it as his heart hammered in his chest. He wanted to tell Kurt that this was nothing, that he would do anything for him, that he loved him and all he wanted was to see him happy.  
  
Blaine looked down at the wintery New York in Kurt's hands and just said, "Merry Christmas Kurt."  
  
Kurt bit his lip and smiled, "Merry Christmas Blaine."

* * *

Christmas Day itself was wonderful. They all got up and had a big breakfast together before opening their gifts. Kurt loved watching his family and how well they all seemed to be getting along, including Cooper and Blaine. And if he kept sneaking glances at Blaine that wasn't really his fault because Blaine looked amazing in a pair of dark red pants a green shirt that really brought out his eyes and a bowtie with little candy canes on it.

  
At one point in the afternoon Finn was taking a phone call from Rachel, they weren't technically together anymore, but you couldn't tell from the way he talked, and Carol was taking a short nap and Blaine and Cooper were deciding what movie to watch, when Kurt's dad got up from his chair and motioned for Kurt to follow him.  
  
Burt grabbed their coats from the coat rack and then led them outside to the back porch. Kurt pulled on his jacket and stuffed his hands deep into the warm pockets.  
  
"Merry Christmas Bud." His dad said and Kurt smiled and leaned against him a little.  
  
"Merry Christmas Dad."  
  
"How are things going?" Burt asked after a moment. "You seem a lot happier than you have been."  
  
"Things are good." Kurt answered looking up at this father. "I mean I think Cooper and I have found a balance, even though we can't decide where to move too... I can hardly fault him for not giving up his dream when I won't give up mine."  
  
His dad nodded looking sad for a moment. They had already discussed what would probably happen if the Lifemate Registry got involved.  
  
"And Blaine?"  
  
Kurt looked at his dad in surprise, not knowing what exactly he was asking. "He'll go to school in New York."  
  
"I mean what about you and Blaine?"  
  
Kurt couldn't help the smile that spread across his face "Blaine is my best friend, I don't know what I would have done these past few months without him."  
  
"That's it? Just friends? Because I've seen the way you two look at each other."  
  
"Blaine... Blaine doesn't look at me any special way." Kurt said, his heart fluttering, he didn't did he? "And Blaine is seeing someone."  
  
"Uh huh." His dad didn't seem convinced.  
  
"What are you getting at Dad?"  
  
"What about the way you look at him?" Burt turned so he was facing Kurt directly.  
  
"I... I don't look at him any special way either."  
  
He dad cocked and eyebrow.  
  
"I don't mean to at least." Kurt said with a heavy sigh, apparently he was being obvious.  
  
"I was just wondering if anything was going on there."  
  
"Nothing's go on." Kurt hurried to assure him. "I wouldn't do that to Cooper."  
  
He dad looked out at the snow-covered backyard for a minute and blew into his hands to warm them up before he spoke again. "I know you have this fairytale idea about Lifemates." He finally said. "And I've been lucky I love your mom and I love Carole, but it isn't always like that for everyone and you can't force it."  
  
"I know Dad." Kurt said with a sad smile. "I think I was trying to make Cooper and I something we weren't at first, but not anymore. We aren't in love and we won't be and I... I... can handle that truth."  
  
"And Blaine?"  
  
Kurt could feel tears start to gather in his eyes. "I love him Dad." Kurt said quietly  
  
He dad sighed, "I know."  
  
"But I won't do anything. You don't have to worry about that."  
  
"I'm not worried about that." Burt said gruffly. "I'm worried about my son being lonely and unhappy because of an unfair system the government puts us through."  
  
Kurt didn't answer; he didn't know what to say to comfort his dad because his life without Blaine _would_ be lonely.  
  
"Maybe you and Blaine... should..." His dad started. "Maybe you could start with having an honest conversation with Cooper about how you feel and then maybe you and Blaine..." He trailed off.  
  
Kurt stared at his dad not believing what he was hearing, was he dad actually encouraging him to be with Blaine? But that could never work. Even if somehow Cooper and Kurt ended up in New York, Blaine could never be his.  
  
"Blaine will get his own Lifemate latter sooner or later." Kurt said.  
  
His dad nodded. "Do you think that if I had known how few years I would have with our mom I would have kept myself from loving her?"  
  
"Dad. No. Never."  
  
"Sometimes having love, even for a short time, is better than never having it at all." Burt said and then rubbed his hands together. "Cold out here. I think I'll go wake Carol and see if she wants to watch a movie with us."  
  
Burt turned and walked back inside leaving a stunned and confused Kurt behind.


	12. Part One: XII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's that? You want more angst? Oh... that was *me* who wanted more angst? Ooops. 
> 
> Also, a warning for some Blaine/Sebastian.

After the Holidays Kurt tried to focus on things other than his feelings for Blaine. He had sent in his application to NYADA, but he knew there was still a chance he'd end up in California and he wasn't planning on another year of community college so he had reluctantly sent in applications to UCLA and the California Institute of the Arts as well. Not that they weren't good schools, but somehow sending in those applications felt like giving up. Especially with the thought of Blaine going to New York without him.  
  
Blaine had amazing grades and had led the Warblers for years and had great recommendations from his teachers, Kurt had no doubt he'd get into NYC. That meant that Kurt just had a matter of months before Blaine moved across the country and he only saw him on Holidays and special occasions. Kurt didn't like to think about that. He'd become so comfortable with how things were now and Blaine was such a big part of his life. He couldn't change anything though, so he was spending as much time with Blaine as possible.  
  
Things had been different since Christmas. A good different, they spent more time together and maybe it was wishful thinking on Kurt's part, but he felt like he caught Blaine looking at him wistfully at times or sitting closer than absolutely necessary.  
  
This wasn't one of those times though.  
  
Blaine came home from school with Sebastian in tow. To Kurt's amazement and despair they were still dating and Sebastian seemed to want a piece of Blaine for himself and was around much too much for Kurt's liking.  
  
Right now Kurt was sitting in a chair in the living room watching Sebastian cuddle up close to Blaine on the sofa. It was killing him watching Sebastian lean in to whisper things in Blaine’s ear that made him blush and Sebastian’s hands were all over him, it was getting ridiculous.  
  
"I'm going to go get something to drink." Kurt said suddenly and Blaine and Sebastian looked away from the show they were all watching. "You two want anything? Or you want to come with me Blaine?" Kurt knew he was being irrational but he couldn't sit here any longer while Sebastian looped his arm around Blaine's shoulders and worked his hand up his leg.  
  
"Um…" Blaine looked at Sebastian and then back at Kurt. "Sure." He said and got up. "Do you want anything?" He asked Sebastian.  
  
"Yeah babe, maybe some ice tea?"  
  
Kurt felt his blood boil as he saw the way Sebastian watched Blaine's ass as he walked away. They got out to the foyer before Blaine reached for Kurt's arm.  
  
"Hey, is something wrong you're acting… weird."  
  
"I'm not acting weird. I'm getting something to drink."  
  
"Okay… I know you don't like Sebastian but-"  
  
"This has nothing to do with Sebastian." Kurt lied.  
  
"What though? What doesn't have to do with Sebastian? What's going on?"  
  
"I just-" Kurt didn't know how to answer. He _was_ acting weird and it _was_ because of Sebastian. He didn't have to say anything as they heard a voice behind them.  
  
"You know what." They turned to see Sebastian joining them. "I think I'd like a diet coke instead." He was leaning on the living room doorframe and looking cocky and Kurt wondered how much he had just heard.  
  
Just then the front door opened and Cooper walked in. He had spent most of the day… doing whatever it was Cooper did when he was at home. Honestly Kurt wasn't entirely sure.  
  
"Sebastian!" Cooper said seeing they had a visitor. "Good to see you."  
  
Kurt really hated that Cooper couldn't see how wrong Sebastian was for Blaine. Blaine might listen to Cooper if he was against Sebastian. Kurt rolled his eyes and started towards the kitchen when he stopped, eyes catching something in Cooper's hand.  
  
"Hey. What's that?" Sebastian asked before Kurt had a chance too.  
  
"What's what?" Cooper looked down to where he had the day's mail in his hand. Kurt knew the exact moment that Cooper saw it because his eyes grew round and his body froze. Everyone was quiet for a moment that felt more like a lifetime to Kurt.  
  
"Oh my god." It was Blaine that finally broke the silence. "Is that… is that… what I think it is?"  
  
" _Shit_." Sebastian hissed.  
  
Kurt couldn't seem to find his voice as he slumped back against a wall, eyes glued to the bright blue envelope stuck among the mail in Cooper's hand. Cooper seemed to be as shocked as Kurt, he hadn't moved at all.  
  
Blaine stepped forward reaching out his hand. "Coop, can I?"  
  
Cooper looked up from the mail to Blaine and then down again. Kurt's heart was caught in his throat. _Not Blaine's Lifemate letter, please no. Not now, it is too soon._  
  
Cooper finally seemed to snap out of his daze as he dropped the rest of the mail and grabbed the blue envelope that had obviously come from the Lifemate Registry.  
  
" _Cooper_." Blaine said again his voice sounding brittle. Cooper didn't give him the letter, instead he tore it open crumpling the envelope in anger and throwing it to the ground as he unfolded the letter and read it to himself.  
  
"Cooper!" Blaine sounded shocked that his brother would open his mail.  
  
"Oh god." Cooper said and Kurt felt like his legs would give out. Blaine was getting a Lifemate, the few months he had were going to be cut short and someone else would call Blaine their own. He thought he might be sick.  
  
"What does it say?" Blaine asked, his voice cracking.  
  
"It's for us." Cooper answered looking up at Kurt.  
  
"What?" Kurt said feeling a little light headed.  
  
"Apparently on our Lifemate surveys the day we got married we both mentioned that a year from then we wanted to move. And… and the Lifemate Registry knows we want to move to opposite sides of the country. This is just a form letter."  
  
"A form letter?" Kurt repeated not able to focus on Cooper's words. It wasn't Blaine's Lifemate letter? He wasn't about to lose him?  
  
"Yeah." Cooper laughed, obviously relived. "They just want to know what our decision is, they are giving us 60 day to let them know where we're moving." He looked back at Blaine, beaming. "It isn't for you squirt! It isn't for you."  
  
"Oh come on! Fuck that!" Sebastian said and Kurt was surprised to see how relieved he looked. "That isn't okay; they should use a different goddam envelope!"  
  
"It's not for me?" Blaine echoed in a small voice, the color returning to his face.  
  
Kurt covered his mouth and held back a sob of relief, before whispering, "Excuse me," and rushing from the room.  
  
He raced to the kitchen and leaned over the sink trying to calm his breathing. It wasn't for Blaine, It wasn't for Blaine. He wasn't losing him. At least not yet. He felt a shudder run through his body, because he knew someday a blue letter would come and it would be for Blaine and everything that was so impossible now would become that much more impossible. But not today, today he still had Blaine here with him.  
  
He was alone for a moment before he heard someone quietly enter the kitchen, he turned expecting Blaine but found Sebastian instead.  
  
"What do you want?" Kurt snapped. He felt wound tight and didn't have the patience for Sebastian right now.  
  
"Cooper asked Blaine and me to go out for a little while so he could have some time to talk to his husband."  
  
"Then  _leave_  already."  
  
"We're going to, Blaine is just changing. Not that it matters because whatever he puts on I'll be taking off soon."  
  
"Excuse me?" Kurt said his mouth going dry.  
  
"Tonight's the night." Sebastian said with a grin, stepping towards Kurt with a confident swagger. "We've been working up to it for a while and I think with the added relief of dodging the Lifemate bullet Blaine is going to be putty in my hands."  
  
Kurt clenched his jaw, his breathing speeding up.  
  
"Tan, smooth, fuckable putty in my hands." Sebastian said slowly. "It's about time I get some of that ass."  
  
"Don't talk about him like that." Kurt clenched his fist. He wasn't a violent person, but he was ready to swing if Sebastian said one more word about Blaine.  
  
"Tsk, tsk Kurt. I thought I told you to get over this hopeless little crush of yours."  
  
Kurt would have said more or tackled Sebastian or something, but Blaine and Cooper came in at just the right moment to have missed what Sebastian just said.  
  
"Everything okay in here?" Blaine asked looking back and forth between Sebastian and Kurt.  
  
Sebastian just smiled and strode over to Blaine planting a kiss on his mouth. "Fine babe. You ready to go?"  
  
Blaine blushed and nodded. "Yeah. Sure." But he took one long look at Kurt mouthing. "You okay?"  
  
Kurt nodded, but he knew his face was red and his fists still clenched.  
  
Sebastian grabbed Blaine's hand and pulled him from the kitchen. Kurt stood watching after them when he realized that Cooper was still there.  
  
"What was that?" Cooper asked and moved to lean against the counter.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"You seemed really upset back there. With the letter."  
  
Kurt looked at Cooper, his body language was relaxed but his brow was furrowed.  
  
"I was just…" How was he going to explain why the thought of Blaine's Lifemate letter had nearly paralyzed him with fear?  
  
"You're upset about the fact that we still can't agree on where to move?" Cooper supplied and Kurt looked up at him with wet eyes, just barely holding back his tears. That wasn't it, the letter was like a dunk in cold water, reminding Kurt of the inevitable future, and then there was Sebastian and what he said was going to happen tonight.  
  
"I, um…" Kurt swallowed back his tears.  
  
"That's what I told Blaine and Sebastian and then asked them to go out to dinner or something so I could talk to my husband."  
  
"Thanks." Kurt said.  
  
"But that's not why you're really upset." Cooper said in a kind voice.  
  
"Yes… yes it is."  
  
Cooper looked at him a long time and then frowned. "Fine. Okay. That's it then."  
  
Kurt nodded and let out along breath.  
  
"Come sit down." Cooper said and moved towards the kitchen table. Kurt followed him and sat down distracted, Sebastian words still playing in his head. Would Blaine really go that far with Sebastian? He didn't think he would, but then again he didn't understand their relationship at all. Why was Blaine even dating him? Worrying about what Sebastian and Blaine were going to get up too after thinking Blaine's Lifemate letter had arrived was almost too much for him.  
  
"I've been thinking about California and New York." Cooper said.  
  
Kurt tried to give him his full concentration, this was important.  
  
"You still want California and I still want New York." Kurt said. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be selfish, but I can't give it up." I'm losing too much as it is. Kurt thought but didn't say aloud.  
  
"I know."  
  
"So I guess we just tell the Lifemate Registry and let them decided."  
  
"No. I don't think so."  
  
"They'll probably pick California anyway Cooper."  
  
"Yeah. Actually I'm pretty sure they would."  
  
Kurt looked down at the table hopelessly, "Then you win."  
  
Cooper sighed. "I don't want to  _win_  Kurt. I want to find something that is good for both of us."  
  
"I don't know what that would be."  
  
"Blaine is moving to New York." Cooper said and Kurt looked up to see him smiling a little. "He always talked about New York, but when it came right to it I thought he'd chose L.A. I guess I was wrong, so if he wants good ol' NYC and you want NYC… then…" He shrugged.  
  
"Wait. What?" Kurt said trying to follow Cooper's train of thought, was he saying what it sounded like he was saying?  
  
"If my kid brother, who is pretty much my world, but don't you dare tell him that. And my husband who has been nothing but kind and understanding from day one, even when I've been a jerk, both want to live in New York City then I guess the Big Apple better make way for one Cooper Andrew Anderson-Hummel!"  
  
"Wait…  _What_?" Kurt repeated his heart leaping.  
  
"But, no offence, I'm just going to use Cooper Anderson as my stage name. It is too much of a mouthful otherwise."  
  
"Cooper, are you serious?" Kurt asked his skin buzzing with excitement that he wasn't sure he should be feeling yet.  
  
"I am. I mean, I'll still be gone a lot. If my career takes off the way I want it to I won't be home too much… but you know, NYC could be my address even if I'm not there all the time. What do you say? Is that a life you could lead?"  
  
"Yes!" Kurt probably answered too fast. "I mean it isn't like I want you to be gone a lot or…. But yes, I… I think we could make that work!"  
  
"Well, I guess we need to turn in this letter to the Lifemate Registry and then start looking at what area of Manhattan we want to live in. Because if we are going to do this, I'm living in Manhattan."  
  
Kurt jumped up from the table and ran around to give Cooper a hug; he could hardly believe this was happening. Cooper had done a complete 180 and it almost felt overwhelming.  
  
"Thank you. Thank you! Oh god Cooper thank you so much!" He kissed his cheek. "I'm so happy. And I'll make it up to you somehow. I promise. Maybe in the summers when I'm not in school we could rent a house in L.A. or something? I don't know but, oh god, thank you so much!"  
  
Cooper laughed and stood placing his hands on Kurt's shoulders and leaning down to kiss him. The kiss was short and sweet and Kurt didn't have to reciprocate before Cooper was pulling back. "I like it when you're happy kid." Cooper said.  
  
Kurt smiled and bounced on his toes a little. He couldn't wait to tell Blaine. And his dad. He was going to call his dad right now.

* * *

Blaine left the house with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Kurt had seemed so upset and he wasn't sure what it was about. He knew that Kurt was still worried about where he was going to move to, and it looked like he and Sebastian were fighting, but Blaine still felt like he was missing something.

  
But his brother had asked for some time alone and he would give it to him. That meant going out with Sebastian for dinner and then a drive, they ended up going staying out late and making their way a little bit out of town to a hill overlooking the city.  
  
It was a cliché make-out spot, but Blaine could admit it had a pretty view. Without really thinking about it he let Seb start to kiss him and then things grew more and more heated until they ended up in the backseat of Sebastian's car.  
  
Blaine was on his back with Sebastian over him; they were both panting, hands all over each other as Sebastian kissed up the side of his neck and captured his lips with his own. If Blaine was being honest he was letting Sebastian do most of the work, he wasn't really in the right mindset, but it didn't feel bad.  
  
"Come on baby." Sebastian pleaded, his hands in Blaine's hair. "Give me something here."  
  
Blaine slid his hand from Sebastian back to his ass and squeezed a little and Seb groaned and pressed himself down harder on Blaine. "God, you're so fucking hot." Sebastian panted between kisses and Blaine could feel himself getting warmer and his pants getting a little tight. "Come on. Come on." Sebastian moaned and started unbuckling Blaine's pants.  
  
"No Sebastian." Blaine said stopping his hands. Seb huffed out a frustrated breath and went for Blaine's shirt instead. He slipped Blaine's unbuttoned shirt and undershirt off quickly and started moving down to kiss Blaine's chest and circle his tongue around his nipple.  
  
"Oh god." Blaine cried at the unexpected sensation.  
  
"See, I can make you feel good." Sebastian said his fingers sliding down to Blaine's pants again and unzipping them.  
  
That was it. Blaine sat up and pushed Sebastian off of him. "I said no."  
  
Sebastian lifted his hands in surrender. "I know, I know. Sorry I shouldn't have done that."  
  
"Sebastian I'm just not ready."  
  
"Okay! I know I get it... it's just that… we've been going out for  _five months_ … when do you think you will be ready?"  
  
Blaine groaned in frustration and grabbed his shirt before opening the car door and getting out. He pulled his shirt back on and let the evening air cool his hot skin. Sebastian followed him out.  
  
"I didn't mean to push." He said with a sigh.  
  
"Yes you did."  
  
"No. Blaine. I know I come on strong and sometimes I just don’t think things through, but I honestly don't want to do anything until you're ready."  
  
"You just want me to be ready now." Blaine said crossing his arms and leaning up against the car.  
  
Sebastian didn't answer he just leaned against the car at Blaine's side. They were quiet for a moment before Blaine spoke. "You seemed upset today when we thought my Lifemate letter had come."  
  
"Well yeah."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"For one I don't actually want my boyfriend to go get married. Go figure. And two, the whole Lifemate system is bullshit."  
  
Blaine looked at Sebastian in surprise. "You think its bullshit?"  
  
"Please, how can you live with your brother and Kurt and think it works?"  
  
"Kurt is a great guy." Blaine said emphatically.  
  
Sebastian shook his head and laughed. "Okay that's debatable, but let's say I concede that point for a moment. They still don't work together do they?"  
  
Blaine knew the answer. "No. They don't… but maybe they will someday." Blaine wanted the best for them; maybe they could still find love even if the thought did make him feel a little heartsick.  
  
"No. I may not be much of a romantic Blaine, but I know people and those two will never be a real pair. The system may say they are matched, but the system got it wrong."  
  
Blaine knew Sebastian was right and he felt guilty about the part of him was happy about it. Because being paired with someone you didn't love sounded terrible and he didn't want that for either of them.  
  
"What are you going to do when you get your Lifemate letter?" Blaine asked.  
  
"Tear it up and skip town." Sebastian smiled.  
  
Blaine smiled back and sighed. "Yeah and get caught and end up in prison. The government takes skipping out on your Lifemate very seriously."  
  
"I've heard of people doing it. I might know a guy…" Sebastian sighed. "But I'll probably just hope my Lifemate is really hot. And if he's not I guess I hope he doesn't care if I go find someone to fuck who is really hot."  
  
"Not everything is about sex Sebastian."  
  
Sebastian just grinned at him and nudged him with his shoulder. "I guess I should take you home. I haven't been much of a gentleman this evening, but at least I can do that."  
  
Blaine nodded and then went around getting into the passenger side of the car.  
  
"You really don't want me going off and getting married huh?" Blaine asked when Sebastian started driving.  
  
"No. We haven't even gone past second base yet."  
  
Blaine just groaned again and didn't say much else the rest of the trip. When he got home he was surprised to see the light on in the kitchen. He went and checked on it to find Kurt awake. He was standing near the stove with just his pajama pants on and his hair all messed up, like he had been in bed but couldn't sleep.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Kurt jumped and then spun around his hand over his heart.  
  
"Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you." Blaine's eyes wondered over Kurt's pale toned chest for a moment and then he made himself look up. Kurt's eyes seemed to be wondering over him too though.  
  
"Your shirts unbuttoned and barely on." Kurt said.  
  
"Um…" Blaine looked down; he was kind of a mess.  
  
"And where's your undershirt?"  
  
Blaine rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Probably in the back of Sebastian's car?"  
  
Kurt's eyes went wide and his face went a little pale. He turned and flipped off the stove and Blaine could see that he was warming some milk.  
  
"That looks good-" Blaine started but then Kurt spun back around.  
  
"The back of Sebastian's car?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"And your hair is all mess up and… oh my god, Blaine your pants are unzipped!"  
  
Blaine looked down again embarrassed and quickly zipped his pants and started buttoning his shirt.  
  
"What… what did you do?" Kurt asked.  
  
Blaine didn't understand why Kurt sounded so agitated. "Seb and I were just fooling around and-"  
  
"Fooling around?" Kurt said his voice pitched higher than normal.  
  
_Well not fooling around, fooling around._  Blaine thought but didn't get a chance to say it.  
  
"Well great!" Kurt said his voice rising in volume. "Fine! If you want to put out for that kind of guy then-"  
  
"Put out?" Blaine said bewildered. "Where is this coming from?"  
  
"I just thought you were smarter than that!" Kurt barreled on. "But apparently you're stupid enough to fall for his tricks."  
  
"I… what?" Blaine could feel himself getting angry. Why was Kurt attacking him, what was going on? "Kurt, Sebastian is my boyfriend. I don't have to explain to you what we're doing." They hadn't even done much but he didn't know why he needed to explain that to Kurt.  
  
"You don't love him!" Kurt yelled.  
  
The night Blaine had accidentally heard Kurt and Cooper together came rushing back to him.  
  
"That doesn't stop you from _'putting out'_  now does it?" Blaine spat out. He had told himself he'd moved on from that, but obviously he hadn't. “Can you stand there and tell me you’re in love with Cooper?”   
  
"I… I…" Kurt looked stunned. "Cooper and I aren't…"  
  
"I heard you Kurt. I heard the two of you together."  
  
"You…  _Oh god_."  
  
Blaine was breathing heavily, half angry with Kurt and half angry at himself for being angry with Kurt. He clenched his jaw, determined not to cry even though that's what he felt like doing.  
  
"It's none of my business what you and Cooper do." He sighed, "I shouldn't have said that, but it isn't any of your business what Sebastian and I do either." Though he wished it was.  
  
Kurt shook his head. "No… I… You're right. I just wish you… Sebastian is only after one thing and if you can't see that-"  
  
"Then I'm stupid, right? That's what you said." Blaine wanted to tape his mouth closed. Why was he still fighting with Kurt? He didn't want to fight with Kurt.  
  
"But I didn't mean that!”  
  
"Yeah, I think you did. I think you just showed me what you really think of me."  
  
"No."  
  
Kurt was sleeping with Cooper when he didn't love Cooper and he was going to get mad when Blaine made-out with his boyfriend? And call him stupid? Blaine was caught between being hurt and being angry. He shouldn't have let his feelings for Kurt get this far, it was messing everything up.  
  
"Just keep the hell out of my life!" Blaine yelled.  
  
Kurt didn't say anything, but his face was blotched pink and his eyes were watery. Blaine wished he could make himself shut-up.  
  
"Fine." Kurt said his voice low. "You make your own bad decisions then."  
  
"And you make yours!" Blaine snapped.  
  
They were both quiet for a moment looking at each other. Blaine could feel his heart constricting, he wanted to walk out and start this conversation all over again, but it was too late to take it back.  
  
"Goodnight Kurt." Blaine said wearily and turned away, hurrying to his room and regretting every step he took away from Kurt. What had he just done?


	13. Part One: XIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody, thank you for reading and for your kudos and your comments. I really appreciate it all! Also... ready for some klaine??

Blaine was sitting in Warbler practice, but hardly paying attention. It had been a couple days since he and Kurt had fought and they hadn't even seen each other since then. Blaine was back to avoiding Kurt, but not for the same reasons, he wanted to make things right between them, he just didn't know how to fix this. All Blaine could do was replay in his mind all of the awful things he had said to Kurt.  
  
He hated that they had fought, but he didn't know what to do about it because he didn't understand what had made Kurt so upset to begin with. He knew Kurt didn't like Sebastian, but what did it matter what they were doing? It was almost like Kurt was jealous.  
  
Blaine's heart thudded. Kurt had no reason to be jealous of Sebastian, did he?  
  
"Blaine." Hunter called breaking Blaine out of his thoughts. "Are you going to join us for this meeting?"  
  
Blaine turned to look at this fellow council member. "Yes, sorry. What were we discussing?"  
  
Sebastian gave him a funny look while Hunter just glared at him. They didn't get alone. "We're discussing ideas to give us an edge at Regionals. We only have three weeks before we go up against New Directions." Hunter said. "We have to beat last year's National winners to make it any further in the competition."  
  
Blaine cleared his throat. "I think we continue with what we have planed. New Directions' pull is their heart and their big numbers. We need to show the judges that the Warblers have heart too and really stick to what we are good at, tight harmonies."  
  
Hunter shook his head and sighed like he knew that was what Blaine was going to say. "I wish that was enough, but the judges want to be dazzled. We need some extra _umph_."

Blaine looked out at the other Warblers all of whom looked worried. "Okay Hunter what do you have in mind?"

He smiled and Blaine had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. "My cousin is a college athlete and there are times he needs... a little push, you know? Just a little extra energy to get through the day."

Blaine furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Sebastian to see if he knew what Hunter was getting at. Sebastian wouldn't make eye-contact with him.

"He has this... remedy that you can take and I believe it will make us stronger as individuals and a group. We could really step up the dance numbers, maybe add some flips. We need something flashy."

Blaine shook his head. "Remedy? What does that even mean?"

"It's all natural." Hunter said. "Well almost."

Blaine stood up from his chair to get a better view of Hunter around Sebastian. "Are you talking about taking drugs to enhance our performance?" Blaine honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Drugs’ is a strong word." Hunter said and then turned to the Warblers. "This is the year of the Warbler, aren't we tired of being beaten by a cheesy group that pretends to be underdogs when really they win almost every year? This stuff is safe and it will let us practice longer and harder and be _better_."

"No!" Blaine interrupted. "Are you insane? Sebastian, back me up here."

Sebastian looked conflicted for a moment "We aren't going to win just by tightening up our harmonies." He said. "Maybe we should vote on it."

"We don't vote on whether or not we are going to cheat.” Blaine laughed incredulously. “We don't cheat!"

"It's isn't cheating. We still sing and dance and do our best, this will just make our best, better." Hunter said. "All in favor of actually winning this year raise your hand."

Blaine watched in horror as Warbler after Warbler slowly raised their hand. He glanced at Trent who was looking down in his lap, he didn't saying anything against the idea, but at least he didn't raise his hand.

"Well, look at that." Hunter said and Blaine realized that Sebastian had his hand up too even though he still wouldn't look Blaine in the eye. "That's well over 75% in favor. I say we go for it."

"We can't do this." Blaine said desperately. “We are better than this!"

"Blaine get on board of get out of the way." Hunter snarled.

"I will not get on board with using drugs and cheating. Who else is with me?"

No one answered, not even those who hadn't raise their hands. Blaine's heart sunk. He had felt it for months, but now he knew it was true. The old Warblers that he knew and loved were gone. This wasn't his group, this wasn't right.

"If you insist on doing this, I can't be a part of it." Blaine said.

Hunter smiled. "There's the door."

"Blaine…" Sebastian said. "You wouldn't have to take them yourself, I mean just those who wanted too…"

"Are you kidding?" Blaine said and looked back at the group. "Isn't anyone going to say something?"

Again silence. Blaine just nodded sadly and clenched his jaw. Fine, it was over then. He walked around from behind the council table and left the room without another word to anyone.

Blaine shrugged off his jacket and started losing his tie on the way to his car feeling trapped and upset. His blood was pumping hard and his head hurt. He still couldn't believe what had just happened. He had quit the Warblers. He had actually just quit. He got out to his car but was stopped by someone calling his name. He turned to see Sebastian rushing towards him.

"Did you come to your senses?" Blaine asked angrily.

"Blaine." He said and put a hand on his elbow. "I don't think it is as bad as you think."

"Oh my god!" Blaine said throwing his hands in the air. "It's cheating Sebastian and worse than that, this could hurt someone!"

"God Blaine, it isn't like we are going to do heroine or something, calm down."

"I will not calm down, this is crazy!"

"Blaine…"

"No." He shook his head. "This is it Seb. This is it for me and the Warblers and this is it for me and you. I'm always defending you, you know? Saying you're a good guy. But this…" He sighed and rubbed his hands down his face. "We're done Sebastian."

Blaine wrenched open the door to his car and started getting in.

"But babe." Sebastian said.

"Don't call me babe." Blaine slammed the door and was on the road moments later, clenching the wheel and breathing hard.

By time he got home most of his anger had faded and he just felt miserable. It hurt to see the guys who he considered friends (well except Hunter) make choices that could really be harmful. He didn't know what to do, he had to stop this but if he reported it his friends could get expelled.

He was so upset he didn't even notice Kurt on his way in, he just rushed up the stairs to his room and mindlessly started changing his clothes.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Kurt heard the front door open and went out to the foyer to meet Blaine. They hadn't talked in the two days since their fight and Kurt couldn't take it anymore. It seemed that suddenly Blaine had Cooper's talent of disappearing. He was leaving the house before Kurt got up and staying out late. But he was home from school early now and Kurt was going to take this opportunity to finally talk to him. They had to talk.

Kurt regretted their fight so much. He had only been up when Blaine got home that night because he was so excited about New York and couldn't wait to tell Blaine. He'd been warming some milk for the both of them when Blaine walked in looking like someone had devoured him. And Kurt just… snapped.

He knew he'd been out-of-line, yes he hated the idea of Blaine with Sebastian, but he had no right to judge him or tell him what to do. Blaine wasn't his; in fact Kurt was married to someone else. Things had gotten out of control.

He knew Blaine had told him to stay out of his life, the words sill felt like a knife to Kurt's heart, but he couldn't do it. Before anything else he and Blaine were friends, and he wasn't going to lose his best friend over this. If that meant he had to stomach Blaine and Sebastian together – he would.

What he didn't expect was a wild looking Blaine to storm into the house and immediately rush to his room. Something was wrong. This wasn't just about Blaine avoiding Kurt. Kurt walked tentatively upstairs and rapped lightly on Blaine's door. There wasn't an answer but Kurt could hear movement from the other side. He knocked again and Blaine abruptly opened the door.

He face was red and his eyes watery like he was crying or trying not to cry, but his expression softened when he saw Kurt. He let out a breath and then backed up making way for Kurt to come in. Kurt walked into the room and saw Blaine's Dalton uniform thrown on the ground, he was now wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, his boxing gloves were laying on the bed. Kurt took it all in and bit his lip, yeah something was definitely wrong.

"Is everything okay?" The question sounded empty to him because obviously things weren't okay.

 Blaine sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before sitting down on his bed. Kurt stood awkwardly, not knowing if Blaine would want him to join him.

"No." Blaine's voice sounded hoarse. "I quit the Warblers."

"You… what?" Kurt asked knowing he must have misheard.

"I quit the Warblers. Oh and you'll be happy to know I broke up with Sebastian too." He said bitterly.

"I…" Kurt shook his head. "No, none of this makes me happy. What's going on?" He hated how miserable Blaine looked. "Did Sebastian…" He swallowed down the worry that gripped his heart. "What did Sebastian do?"

Blaine ran a hand through his hair, working out the gel and causing his curls to break loose. "He agreed with Hunter and the rest of the Warblers to cheat at Regonals."

Kurt just stood there blinking at Blaine. That couldn't be right.

Blaine looked up and finally met Kurt's eyes. "Don't worry. I'll report them. I won't let New Directions lose because the Warblers have lost their minds. I just… I just had to get out of there for now."

Kurt walked over and sat next to him on the bed, not able to stay away when Blaine looked so unhappy. "What happened?"

"It's Hunter, I don't know why they all follow him, but… They wouldn't listen to me. I thought they were my friends."

Blaine sounded heartbroken and it hurt to hear. Kurt leaned his forehead against the side of Blaine's head and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, cupping the side of his neck with his hand. "I'm sorry Blaine." He didn't know what else to say, he didn't really understand how this could happen.

Blaine wiped his eyes a little and laughed ruefully. "You know the funny part? I'm sad about the Warblers, but I really don't care that Sebastian and I broke up."

Kurt worried his lip and pulled back a little to look at Blaine. "Are you sure? Because… I've been thinking and I was wrong the other night, if you and Sebastian are… I mean if you are happy with him…"

Blaine smiled and little a shook his head. "Honestly, I feel a little relieved about our break-up. I think he was just… a distraction."

Kurt furrowed his brow. "A distraction from what?"

Blaine looked at him, golden eyes seemingly boring into him like he was searching for something from Kurt. But then he just shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Kurt knew there was something else there, but he wasn't going to press. "I wanted to apologize for how I acted when you got home from your date the other night." Kurt said.

"Kurt you don't have to-"

"No I do. Sebastian had said before you two left… well, it doesn't matter what he said, but it made me worried and then you came home looking like… that and I just lost it. But I shouldn't have been angry. What you two did was between the two of you and-"

"I didn't have sex with Sebastian." Blaine said.

Kurt froze, mouth still open mid-sentence.

"We never did. I should have just said that. Nothing happened. I mean, nothing more than some making out."

"You didn't… oh." Kurt felt light and giddy. His closed his eyes and couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. When he opened them again Blaine was looking at him oddly like he was trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Um… what you heard, between me and Cooper." Kurt started.

Blaine's face flushed and he shook his head. "Please Kurt, you don't have too."

"It was once Blaine. That one time and not again. It isn't like that between us and I decided to stop pretending it is. Sorry, if that was more than you wanted to know I just thought… it seemed to bother you and…" Kurt ran out of words, why was this all so difficult?

"It did bother me." Blaine said. "It's been driving me a little crazy actually."

Kurt heart sped up. "Why?" He asked softly.

Blaine looked at him and his face was so close and so earnest that it took Kurt's breath away.

"Why did my being with Sebastian bother you?" Blaine breathed out like the answer to this question was the most important thing in the world.

Kurt's heart was in his throat and his skin felt warm and tingly. He glanced down at Blaine's red parted lips and he couldn't hold himself back, he didn't want too. He moved a hand to Blaine's face, his thumb running over his cheekbone as his other hand curved around the back of his neck bringing him forward as Kurt leaned in.

Their lips met and Kurt couldn't breathe, so afraid that Blaine was going to pull away, but instead Blaine let out a choked sigh and pressed their lips together. Kurt's eyes fluttered closed as Blaine's hands found the back of Kurt's neck and buried his fingers in Kurt's hair as he parted his lips a little more and tugged Kurt's bottom lip into his mouth, leaning forward to erase any space between them.

It still wasn't enough for Kurt, months of longing and wanting and wishing pouring out of him, he got up on his knees on the bed, never breaking away from Blaine, he lifted himself up over Blaine and used the angle to kiss him harder. He let out a whimper at the feel of Blaine's lips on his own and Blaine's strong hands traveling down to his back to hold him. It was more than Kurt could have ever hoped for. He didn't know it could be like this. He didn't know he could feel so safe and complete.

Blaine grasped the back of Kurt's shirt bunching it in his hands as he pulled Kurt in, he moved his legs on the bed so Kurt was kneeling between them. Kurt moved down so he was sitting on his heels, practically in Blaine’s lap, he angled his head, loving the smooth slide of Blaine's lips on his own.

Kurt's heart was racing and his mind was fuzzy he pressed forward just a little and Blaine fell backwards on the bed pulling Kurt down with him. Blaine let out a needy whimper and Kurt wanted to cry at the hunger inside him wanting more and more of Blaine. Blaine's tongue moved across his lips and Kurt parted them letting him in as his breath mixed with Blaine's.

Kurt was gasping and panting into the kiss his body warm and his legs unable to remain still as his chest pressed against Blaine's and his hands worked their way through Blaine's curls. Kurt thought that he would just keep kissing Blaine forever but his brain was getting dizzy and he had to pull back a little to breathe. Blaine laid under him cheeks flushed a deep red and eyes all but black they were so dilated as his gazed up at him.

" _Kurt_." He said and it came out of his mouth a breathy sigh making Kurt shiver. Kurt had no words he just knew he never wanted this moment to end. He leaned down again and let their lips meet and Blaine's hands started traveling under his shirt and up his back. This was so much better than any kiss he had ever experienced. Better than even the most passionate of kisses he'd shared with Cooper.

Oh god, Cooper.

The spell was broken and Kurt immediately jumped up, almost toppling off the bed in his haste. He looked at Blaine with wide eyes; he was still laying on the bed and breathing heavily starring back at Kurt with a desperate look in his eyes.

"I... I..." Kurt turned to the door. "I have to go." He rushed from the room and down the hall to the master bedroom where he locked himself in the adjoining bathroom and turned on the faucet splashing cold water on his face.

He had never felt so happy or free. He laughed a little and looked up at his reflection. His cheeks were rosy and his lips kiss-red and his hair a mess. He had kissed Blaine and Blaine had kissed him back. He wasn't alone in the way he felt. There was something between them. Kurt closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, what in the world where they going to do?


	14. Part One: XIV

Blaine sat up on his bed his heart pounding so hard he thought it might beat right out of his chest. He stared at the door that Kurt had just fled through and lifted a hand to touch his still kiss tingling lips. Kurt had kissed him. He closed his eyes and shuddered out a breath. Kurt had kissed him. He fell back on the bed with a laugh. Oh god, he felt like he could fly.  
  
He stared up at the ceiling for a long moment as other thoughts started clouding his mind. He had kissed Kurt. Kurt. His brother's Lifemate. He groaned and rolled off the bed. He went for his cell phone and held it shakily in his hand.  
  
Cooper was in Cincinnati and wouldn't be home until tomorrow. He typed out a message.  
  
"Cooper. Call me. We need to talk." His finger hovered over the send button.  
  
No, he couldn't do it, what was he even going to say? "Cooper I'm in love with your husband. Hopelessly, desperately in love with him."  
  
Blaine winched. This wasn't a conversation to have over the phone. He would wait until tomorrow when Cooper was home. He erased the message. He had no idea how this was going to turn out, but he knew he couldn't keep this from his bother any longer.  
  
Blaine couldn't believe all that had happened in one day. He knew he should feel awful about the Warblers and Sebastian and guilty over Kurt, but mostly he just felt free. He'd been holding on to this secret for so long, and maybe he hadn't told Kurt how he felt, but it was out there anyway and there was no taking it back now – He didn't want to.  
  
He hoped Kurt wasn't freaking out too much. He wanted to go find him, but thought maybe Kurt needed a minute. Instead Blaine grabbed his gloves and went downstairs to the workout room, throwing punches at the punching bag and trying to clear his mind and come up with a plan. Because there wasn't any going back now, he couldn't pretend to just be friends, not after that kiss. Everything had changed.  
  
He just hoped Kurt saw it that way too.

* * *

Kurt paced his bedroom torn between finding Blaine and telling him how he felt, though he was pretty sure he'd said a lot with the kiss, and calling Cooper and confessing everything. He sat down on the bed feeling shaky and a little ill. He grabbed his phone and dialed, but instead of Cooper he needed to talk to his dad.

  
Burt answered after only one ring. "Hey bud."  
  
"I kissed him." Kurt said without a greeting.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Dad, I kissed him."  
  
"Cooper?"  
  
Kurt sighed and rubbed his forehead. "No."  
  
“Blaine." Burt said and it wasn't a question.  
  
Kurt could feel his chest getting tight. "I know I should regret it, but I can't." Kurt said. "And I know there is nothing that can be done about it, but… I want him dad. I want Blaine. I love Blaine."  
  
He could hear his dad sigh on the other end before he spoke again. "Have you talked to Cooper?”  
  
"What am I suppose to say? 'Sorry the Lifemate Registry gave you a husband you didn't want in the first place, and by the way I don't even love you because I'm in love with your brother'?"  
  
"He didn't want a husband in the first place?" Burt asked.  
  
Oh yeah, Kurt had purposefully not mentioned that to his dad not wanting him to worry anymore then he already did.  
  
"That isn't the point really." Kurt said his eyes filling with tears. "I know you said it is better to have love for a little while than to not have love at all, but… I can't lose Blaine dad. So maybe… maybe we shouldn't be together. And if we aren't going to be together then why tell Cooper at all?"  
  
"Kurt." Burt said sternly. "Don't you think Cooper deserves the truth regardless?"  
  
Kurt didn't answer; his throat was too full of tears and his mind too conflicted to come up with an answer.  
  
His dad sighed again. "You know in the end it is up to you, it's easy for me to say what to do when I'm not in that situation. I trust you Kurt. You've grown into a young man that I am very proud of. You do what it is you think you should do."  
  
"Dad. I don't know what that is."  
  
"Just keep one thing in mind, okay bud?"  
  
Kurt nodded even though his dad couldn't see him.  
  
"I don't say this to be cruel, but you said you can't lose Blaine so you shouldn't be with him? But…" Burt paused and Kurt was afraid of what he was going to say next. "You are going to lose him eventually whether or not you deny your feelings or let yourself be happy for a time."  
  
Kurt whimpered a little knowing his dad was right. No matter what they did from here on out the day would come that someone else's name would be paired with Blaine's.  
  
"I'm not much help am I?"  
  
"Talking with you always helps." Kurt said softly. "It's just that I'm not a kid anymore." He laughed a little. "I have to make up my own mind."  
  
"You've never had that much trouble making up our mind Kurt." His dad said with a smile in his voice.  
  
Kurt laughed again. "I guess not."  
  
When he got off the phone he still felt confused and torn about what the right thing to do was. He knew what his heart was telling him, but he also knew it would hurt Cooper and hurt himself down the road.  
  
He walked back to Blaine's room but he wasn't there. Kurt made his way downstairs to the workout room and found Blaine pounding mercilessly at the punching bag. His face was intent and framed with sweat, his hair had lost all of its gel and was springing out in curls, the muscles of his arms tense and his golden eyes focused on the punching bag. He looked gorgeous.  
  
Blaine stopped when he caught sight of Kurt. They stood and just looked at each other for along moment, before Blaine spoke.  
  
"Please tell me you don't regret it." Blaine said barely above a whisper.  
  
Kurt shook his head and walked forward his hands in his pockets and a little smile on his face. "I don't regret it."  
  
Blaine's shoulders slumped with relief and he let out a sigh like the weight of the world was lifted off of him. "I was scared you were going to come in here and tell me it was a mistake."  
  
"No." Kurt said, he was standing next to Blaine now and reached out for his hand before he stopped, looking down to see the big red boxing glove on Blaine was wearing.  
  
"Oh." Blaine said and started pulling them off.  
  
"Let me help." Kurt took his hands and gently and slowly removed the gloves setting them aside until they stood together hand in hand, Blaine's long callused fingers hanging tightly onto Kurt. "Blaine I don't regret kissing you. I've wanted to do it for so long now."  
  
Blaine smiled his eyes sparkling. "I think I've wanted to kiss you since I saw you at the Lifemate Center."  
  
Kurt laughed and stepped even closer. "I'm crazy about you Blaine."  
  
Blaine closed his eyes a breathed in like Kurt's words were something he was thirsty for. He opened his eyes again and looked directly at Kurt, his face serious. "I'm in love with you Kurt."  
  
Kurt could feel his breathing speed up. He was in love with Blaine but he couldn't make himself say it, not yet. He lifted his arms and wrapped them around Blaine's shoulders, not caring how sweaty he was. Blaine closed his eyes and leaned forward as if to kiss Kurt again. It hurt him to do it, but Kurt pulled his face back a little "No Blaine. We can't"  
  
Blaine's eyes opened again and there was a tinge of fear behind them. "Kurt... please, don't say we can't. I won't be able to bare it."  
  
"What about Cooper? He's your brother. Your family. How can we do this to him?"  
  
Blaine's face crumpled, he looked like he was in pain. "This isn't fair."  
  
"No… no it isn't." Kurt answered voice scratchy.  
  
Blaine's hands had found their way to Kurt's hips but they fell away and he stepped back. Kurt wanted to shout that he changed his mind and kiss Blaine senseless right then and there. But he didn't say anything at all; he let his arms fall from Blaine's shoulders as the space between them widened.  
  
Blaine ran his hand through his hair and nodded. "Okay. Okay." He said and looked around the room seeming lost. He finally met Kurt's eyes again. "What now?" Blaine said putting his hands on his hips.  
  
"I could start dinner while you wash up and then we could watch the new episode of Dancing with the Stars." Kurt said smiling even has his chest started to feel hollow.  
  
Blaine was breathing heavily and he just stood and blinked at Kurt for a long moment. "Right." He looked down at the ground. "Just go back to normal."  
  
Kurt couldn't speak. Noting was going to be the normal again, but he couldn't do anything, not yet at least.  
  
Blaine seemed to be getting control of his emotions before he looked back up. "I'm going to go shower." He didn't say it angrily, he just sounded hurt, and that was so much worse.

* * *

Blaine walked past Kurt and hurried upstairs to shower and change. He felt queasy and lost. He wanted to disagree with Kurt, to rant and argue and convince him that they should be together, but he couldn't not when he knew Kurt was right... Blaine loved his brother, he wouldn't do anything to hurt him, but that didn't mean he was giving up.

  
Cooper would be home tomorrow evening and Blaine was going to tell him how he felt. He knew Cooper wasn't in love with Kurt, he cared about him, but he wasn't in love. Blaine just hoped that was enough. Because he didn't want to fight or betray his brother, but he was not going to give up on Kurt so easily, not now that he knew Kurt had feelings for him too. He couldn't.  
  
Blaine took a long cool shower and then changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and a soft v-neck t-shirt, He went downstairs to find that Kurt had changed in to comfortable clothes too, sweatpants with an oversized shit that slid of his shoulder. It was only the fact that he knew Kurt would never be purposefully mean that Blaine was able to convince himself Kurt wasn't wearing that to drive him insane.  
  
He helped with dinner without either of them saying much until Kurt spun on his heels to face Blaine.  
  
"Oh my gosh!"  
  
"What? What is it?" Blaine asked startled.  
  
"I've been meaning to tell you. Cooper said I could be the one to let you know, we're moving to New York!"  
  
"You're… moving to New York?"  
  
Kurt bounced on his toes and clasped his hands excitedly. "Cooper said he'd still have to spend a lot of time in L.A. but he could have his permanent address in New York since that's what I wanted and since you were going to be there!"  
  
Blaine wanted to just drop to the floor and laugh he was so relived. Kurt was going to be in New York with him. He had even more reason to try to make this work between them.  
  
"I told you!' He said grinning wildly. "I told you that it was meant to be."  
  
Kurt laughed. "You did."  
  
And just like that they were back to being best friends, even if they both knew there was more to it than that now. They took their food to the living room and talked about living in New York and about the Warblers and how Blaine was going to give them one more chance before he spoke to the administration. He didn't want his friends to get in trouble. Then they settled down to watch some of their favorite shows.  
  
The evening was much like any evening Blaine and Kurt had spent together countless times. Except this time when they finished eating Kurt curled up on the couch and leaned against Blaine. Neither of them said anything about it, Blaine just wrapped his arm around Kurt, his nearness giving Blaine hope. 


	15. Part One: XV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, time to deal with this whole Warbler situation. Thanks as always for reading!

Blaine woke up the next day feeling better than he had for a long time. It was ridiculous really because he was going to confront the Warblers today, but what was that in the face of knowing that Kurt had feelings for him? He got up and got ready for the day finishing the final touches with a smile. He smoothed down his hair and fixed his tie before heading down stairs. Kurt was at the kitchen table, schoolwork and his laptop spread out in front of him.  
  
"You're getting an early start." Blaine said as he filled his thermos with coffee Kurt had made.  
  
"Mmmm." Kurt hummed in reply. "I woke up this morning and couldn't get back to sleep."  
  
"Everything okay?"  
  
Kurt looked at him and smiled and then looked back down as his smile grew and a flush spread over his cheeks. "Uh, yeah. Fine".  
  
Blaine's heart skipped a beat.  
  
"Are you nervous about talking to the Warblers today?" Kurt said changing the subject.  
  
Blaine sighed and screwed the lid on his coffee tumbler. "Yeah, but it's in their hands really. They don't have to do this."  
  
"Do you think you'd join again if they backed down from their insane plan?"  
  
Blaine shook his head. "No, I think my Warblers days are over."  
  
Kurt looked troubled. "I hate that. I hate that this is your senior year and you should have had a chance at Nationals and now… now..." Kurt was visibly upset.  
  
Blaine walked over and put a hand over Kurt's. "I know, it shouldn't have happened this way… but." He shrugged. "I'm okay. Really." And he was, the Warblers hadn't felt right all year anyway and really his mind was so full of thoughts of Kurt, little else mattered.  
  
Kurt stood and gave him a long hug, his hand spread against his back and his chin hooked over his shoulder. Blaine so wanted to whisper "I love you" in Kurt's ear but kept himself from it. Not yet. When they finally broke apart Blaine immediately missed Kurt's warmth.  
  
Kurt smiled at him. "Call me if you need a pep talk or something."  
  
Blaine grinned. "I will."  
  
Blaine got to school and went through the day before Warbler practice. He stopped a few of his friends in the hallways talking to them one on one about Hunter's plan. A lot of them looked guilty, but weren't about to change their minds, though several said they didn't want to have anything to do with the plan, but were too scared to say anything.  
  
"Hunter said that anyone who sided with you could just leave the Warblers all together." Trent told him.  
  
"When did this happen?"  
  
"After you left yesterday."  
  
"He doesn't have the power to do that Trent."  
  
Trent shrugged, "Maybe he does."  
  
Blaine was angry. He was tempted to let them go through with their stupid plan before he exposed them, because that would ensure Hunter got expelled. But he couldn't do that to his friends, or to the New Directions for that matter. He'd met Artie and Tina and some of the others and he liked them. Even if he didn't, he'd never let another club lose because of the Warblers' cheating.  
  
After school that day Blaine marched to the Warbler practice room trying to fake more confidence than he felt. He opened the double doors with force and walked in interrupting the practice. Everyone in the room froze and turned to look at him.  
  
"This practice is for Warblers only." Hunter said. "You don't belong here."  
  
Blaine narrowed his eyes. "No Hunter, you don't belong here. For decades the Warblers have been gentlemen and fair competitors and you've ruined that."  
  
"Please." Hunter said rolling his eyes. "I don't really care about your lectures. You need to leave."  
  
Blaine ignored him and turned to the other guys in the room, noticing that Sebastian was no longer sitting behind the council table, Hunter was there alone. He made eye contact with Sebastian for a short moment and then scanned the faces of the other Warblers.  
  
"I want to give you the chance to do the right thing." Blaine said. "I know you all are better than this. Tell Hunter you won't cheat."  
  
"Or what?" Hunter said leaning back in his chair and looking smug.  
  
"If you don't I'll be forced to tell the Chancellor what you're planning."  
  
Hunter started to laugh. "It will be you're word against ours." He said. "One angry Warbler who left the club when he didn't get his way against all of us." Hunter said gesturing towards the rest of the club.  
  
Blaine swallowed down his anger. "Hunter, you won't get away with this."  
  
"Yes, we will. You're alone Blaine, no one is going to side with you. If you _tattle_ then it will be your ass on the line."  
  
Blaine clenched his jaw and curled his fist. Hunter wasn't going to get the better of him, but he wasn't sure what to do from here.  
  
"I'll tell the Chancellor that Blaine is telling the truth." Trent said standing.  
  
Hunter lifted an eyebrow. "And be kicked off of the Warblers and lose having that on your college transcript? I don't think so, you need it too much."  
  
But Trent remained standing.  
  
"I'll go with Blaine too." Another boy said standing.  
  
"So will I." Another.  
  
Blaine heart swelled as a few of his friends stood with him. Sebastian shook his head with a smile on his face and then winked at Blaine before standing. "I'm with Blaine too."  
  
Blaine felt like he could cry as one by one almost every Warbler stood. Only a few remained sitting and looking down to the ground.  
  
"You've lost Hunter." Sebastian said. "You might as well go with us to talk to the Chancellor and admit it. Maybe he'll go easy on you."  
  
Blaine smiled, grateful that the Warblers hadn't let him down in the end. Hunter yelled and threaten but there were too many of them against him.  
  
It was easy work after that. A quick meeting with Dr. Simone the Chancellor with the majority of the Warblers behind him. Then Hunter was called in.  
  
They left Hunter to his fate.  
  
Blaine was so relieved and excited that he wanted to go straight home and tell Kurt, but Trent, Sebastian and several of the other Warblers asked him to stay and have coffee with them, they wanted to apologize and ask him to come back to the Warblers.  
  
Blaine was undecided, his heart just wasn't in it anymore, but after the show of solidarity he felt he owed it to the Warblers. He told them he'd think about it.  
  
Sebastian pulled him aside on his way out and into an empty room. He immediately pressed his lips against Blaine's and started to kiss him. Blaine pushed him off.  
  
"God Sebastian what's wrong with you?"  
  
Sebastian looked genuinely surprised. "I thought we were making up?"  
  
"No Seb, we aren't together anymore."  
  
Sebastian let out a short laugh as if Blaine was kidding and then grew serious when Blaine didn't say anything. "I know I was jerk yesterday, but I made up for it. I stood up in Warbler practice for you Blaine."  
  
"Well, you should have done it because it was the right thing to do Sebastian. We're over. This didn't win me back, I'm sorry if you thought that was what was happening."  
  
"But babe- Blaine, I mean Blaine, can't we try again?"  
  
"No Sebastian. We can't." Blaine actually felt bad for Sebastian as his face fell, but Blaine was done with this relationship he couldn't stay with Sebastian when he had only ever started to date him to try to get over Kurt. He felt guilty about it, but what else could he do at this point  
  
"I'm sorry Seb." Blaine said sincerely and walked past him back to the hallway and then out to the parking lot. He was just getting to his car when he heard someone behind him, thinking it was Sebastian he sighed and turned around.  
  
"Listen-" He stopped short coming face to face with a livid Hunter.  
  
Hunter's face was red and his eyes were blood shot and looking crazed, Blaine could see a vain on the side of his neck budging. Hunter extended his hands and pushed Blaine roughly up against his car.  
  
"What the hell Hunter?" Blaine asked shocked, but Hunter didn't answer.  
  
Blaine didn't even have a chance to defend himself, all those years of boxing failing him because he just didn't see it coming.  
  
Hunter threw a one-two punch, hitting Blaine's jaw and then his stomach. Blaine doubled over and that was when he noticed two or three other guys, the Warblers who hadn't sided with Blaine, standing behind Hunter.  
  
Hunter swung his fist again as the other guys moved in. Oh god, not this again, this couldn't be happening to him again.

* * *

Kurt was eagerly awaiting Blaine getting home. He'd been nervous all day about Blaine confronting the Warblers. He wished he'd gone with him, met him at the end of the school day, just to give him moral support. But it would be okay, this was something Blaine needed do.

  
The house phone rang surprising Kurt; he didn't think he'd ever heard it ring before. He answered it thinking it was probably a sale person.  
  
"Anderson-Hummel residence."  
  
"Hello, is this Mr. Anderson-Hummel?"  
  
"Yes, this is he."  
  
"This is Dr. Simone I'm calling about your brother."  
  
"Finn?" Kurt asked confused. "What do you mean?"  
  
"No, your brother Blaine Anderson? He goes to school here at Dalton?"  
  
"Oh, um. This is Kurt Anderson-Hummel. I'm Cooper's Lifemate." Kurt explained, wondering why someone would be calling from Dalton about Blaine, he hadn't gotten in trouble with this whole Warbler thing had he?  
  
"Oh excuse me." The person on the other end said and Kurt could hear the strain in his voice.  
  
"You're calling about Blaine? What's wrong?"  
  
"Is Cooper home?"  
  
Kurt started to get anxious. "No he's out of town. What's going on with Blaine?"  
  
"I'm so sorry to tell you this, but there's been an… incident."  
  
Kurt wrapped an arm around his stomach and tried not to panic. This wasn't just about the Warblers; he knew the sound of really bad news in someone's voice when he heard it. He had enough experience.  
  
"What is it?" Kurt asked, his voice not coming out a strong as he would have liked.  
  
"I'm afraid a group of boys… students- they attacked Blaine on his way out of school this afternoon. He's being brought to Mt. Carmel Hospital."  
  
Kurt didn't hear much else after that as his hands started to shake and he swayed on his feet. Blaine was attacked and being brought to a hospital? Not Blaine. Please not him. This couldn't happen. Kurt fought back a sob. Blaine was supposed to be safe at Dalton.


	16. Part One: XVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger in the last chapter, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. Thanks for reading!

Kurt ran to his car his body feeling like he might vibrate out of his skin. After the initial shock of hearing Blaine was hurt he couldn't move fast enough, he grabbed his phone and his car keys and he was out the door. He backed out of the driveway calling Cooper's number.  
  
Cooper didn't answer so Kurt left him a hurried message, trying not to sound as panicked as he felt.  
  
"Cooper, you need to come home. I…" He closed his eyes. How did you tell someone on a voicemail that their little brother had been attacked? "It's Blaine. He's hurt. I don't know much right now, but I'll call you as soon I find out anything else."  
  
He hung up and swallowed back a sob, willing himself not to cry. He didn't need to add to this disaster by getting in a wreck on his way to the hospital. He still managed to make it to the hospital in record time, pulled into a parking space and sprinted into the emergency room. His heart was in his throat and his feet not carrying him as fast as he wanted to move. He stopped and the front desk out of breath.  
  
"Blaine Anderson." He said to the woman up front. "I need to see Blaine Anderson."  
  
She handed him a clipboard. "Sign in and I can give you a visitor's pass." She turned to her computer to look up Blaine as Kurt hastily filled out his name.  
  
"And what is your relation to Blaine Anderson?"  
  
"I…" He blinked. "I'm his brother-in-law.” That didn't feel right but he figured saying he was family would help him see Blaine faster.  
  
She nodded and gave him a pass, which he clipped on his shirt and listened as she gave him directions to where to find Blaine.  
  
"Sorry I can't tell you anything about his condition, but I'll let them know you're coming and they can send a nurse or-"  
  
"Yes. Thank you." Kurt said voice tight, he was already moving away from her. He just needed to find Blaine.  
  
He got on an elevator and rode to the floor he'd been directed to, stomach doing flips, the Chancellor’s works ringing in his ears, a group or students attacked Blaine. Kurt kept moving, his need to get to Blaine overcoming his desire to break down and cry. He went down a hall to a nurses' station needing to know how Blaine was but scared to hear it at the same time.  
  
"Blaine Anderson." He said to a nurse and she nodded.  
  
"Come with me."  
  
Kurt held his breath as she led him to a hospital room, his head was spinning and his throat was tight.  _Please, please Blaine be okay.  
  
_ He walked into the room and nearly collapsed on the spot, his legs feeling wobbly. Blaine was sitting up on the side of a bed his legs dangling over the edge. He was wearing a hospital gown and there were some cuts and bruises on his face, but he was awake and up and smiling at a nurse.  
  
"Oh god." Kurt breathed and Blaine looked up at him.  
  
"Kurt!" He called and held out a hand.  
  
Kurt didn't need any more of an invitation; he rushed forward and wrapped Blaine protectively in his arms. He held him close tucking his head in the crook of Blaine's neck breathing him in.  
  
"It's okay Kurt." Blaine said rubbing a hand up and down Kurt's back. "Don't worry - its okay you don't have to cry."  
  
That was when Kurt realized there were hot tears running down his cheeks. He sniffed and backed up a little to look Blaine in the face, but kept his arms around Blaine's back. "A-are you okay?"  
  
Blaine smiled and then winced and Kurt took a long look at his face. There was a bruise on the right side and a cut at the corner of his mouth; he had a bandage on his left temple and an ugly gash over his right eye that had been stitched up.  
  
"I'm fine Kurt." Blaine answered, but he didn't look fine.  
  
Kurt swept the pad of his thumb just under the stitched up cut on Blaine's face. "No. You're hurt."  
  
Blaine sighed. "It isn't so bad. It's Dalton policy that I had to go to the hospital when there is a possibility of a concussion or internal bleeding or whatever."  
  
Kurt's eyes widened and his breath hitched. "What?"  
  
"I don't have a concussion or internal bleeding!" Blaine said quickly, "They just had to check. It isn't nearly as bad as last time."  
  
" _Last time_." Kurt repeated the thought painful to him.  
  
Blaine shook his head and pulled Kurt in closer to lean their foreheads together. "I keep saying the wrong thing. But Kurt, really I'll be fine. I'll be a little sore for a bit, but fine. Hunter got in a few good swings with his goons standing around watching, but then some other students came outside and the whole thing broke up really fast."  
  
Kurt swallowed and nodded placing a soft kiss on Blaine's cheek, and then his chin and then his lips. He pulled back and smiled as he saw that Blaine had closed his eyes and leaned forward, an expression of pure delight on his face. Kurt chuckled a little as Blaine opened his eyes again.  
  
Kurt looked around, "Good thing the nurses left."  
  
Blaine smiled brightly. "They don't know who you are, you could…" He looked to the ceiling and tapped his chin like he was thinking. "You could probably kiss me again, for real. If you wanted too."  
  
Kurt laughed, happy relief bubbling inside him and chasing away his earlier fear. "I signed in as your brother-in-law. I probably shouldn't."  
  
"Ah." Blaine said a little disappointed. "Hey, do you know if the school called Cooper or if we should let him know?"  
  
"Oh my god!" Kurt cried and looked down at his phone, it was set on vibrate and there were three missed calls and five texts from Cooper. "Shit, shit, shit."  
  
Blaine watched him with widening eyes as he realized the problem. "Oh no." He twisted around on the bed and picked up the hospital phone and started dialing looking back at Kurt. "If they catch you with your cell phone they'll make you turn it off." He said as he waited for someone to pick up on the other end.  
  
"Cooper!" Blaine looked relieved when his brother answered. "I'm fine. I'm fine." There was a pause and Kurt couldn't make out what Cooper was saying on the other end but he could hear his voice well enough to know Cooper was panicking. "Cooper really, take a breath. I am fine. I’ll tell you all about what happened but… No, just-  I’m a little bruised."  
  
Kurt knew Blaine was down playing things, but he was going to let it go if that helped Cooper not freak out too much. "Seriously they are going to release me soon and Kurt can- What do you mean you're on your way?"  
  
Kurt watched as Blaine spoke with his brother feeling guilty that he'd made Cooper worry so much. When Blaine got off the phone he scooted back in the bed to leaned against the back of it. He sighed and smiled. "Cooper was on his way back anyway and he is going to meet us here."  
  
Kurt nodded and Blaine patted the bed next to him. Kurt looked around the empty room for a moment wondering if it would be okay and then decided it didn't matter. He crawled up on the bed and sat next to Blaine curling his arms around him as Blaine leaned his head down on Kurt's.  
  
“Blaine-” Kurt began his voice a little wobbly.  
  
"They'll come in a little while and tell me I can change and get ready to go and I'm sure you have questions about what happened, but for now let's just…" Blaine sighed "Can we just be? Here, with each other?"  
  
"Yes." Kurt said and tightened his hold a little. Kurt had a pretty good idea what had happened. The Chancellor said he'd been attacked on his way out of school and Blaine had mentioned Hunter. Kurt clenched his jaw, he didn't know this Hunter character but he just couldn't understand how anyone would want to hurt Blaine.  
  
Kurt rubbed his cheek against Blaine's shoulder, unconsciously trying to be even closer to him without hurting any of his injuries. Blaine sighed in Kurt's hold like he was completely content to sit in a hospital bed bandaged up all long as Kurt was with him.  
  
Blaine was right, a nurse came in after a little while saying they were preparing his discharge and Kurt went back to the hall to give him some privacy to slip back into his clothes. While Kurt waited Cooper came bursting down the hall running so fast he had to skid to a stop at Blaine's room.  
  
"Kurt!"  
  
"He really is okay Cooper." Kurt said before Cooper could even ask.  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
Kurt nodded towards Blaine's room. "He's changing back to his clothes, they're releasing him."  
  
Cooper let out a breath and pushed the hair back from his forehead; he stopped and took a good long look at Kurt. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Me? I'm fine. I wasn't there when it happened."  
  
"On the phone… you just sounded… In your voicemail you didn't sound okay." Cooper put his hands on his own hips as he spoke and tilted his head, he looked remarkably like Blaine.  
  
"I was scared." Kurt said softly. "But I didn't mean to scare you."  
  
Cooper shook his head. "No, I'm glad you called. What happened?"  
  
Kurt started to explain as much as he knew, about the Warblers and Hunter and what little he'd learned from the Chancellor. He was most of the way through when Blaine came out of the room. He was in his uniform slacks and shirt, tie and blazer tucked under his arm. There was a bright red stain on the front of his white shirt that made Kurt feel a little sick.  
  
"Squirt!" Cooper cried and engulfed him in a hug. "What the hell Blaine? You have to stop this. You're going to give me a heart attack."  
  
"I'm sorry." Blaine murmured against Cooper's shoulder before Cooper finally let him go and took a good look at him.  
  
"Are they releasing you?"  
  
"Yeah." Blaine said looking tired.  
  
"I'm going to talk to your doctor first okay?" He turned to Kurt. "You got this?"  
  
Kurt nodded as Cooper strode away. Kurt moved over to hold Blaine's hand; Blaine smiled down at their entwined fingers for a moment before looking back up at Kurt. He was hurt and obviously exhausted but his eyes sparkled when he looked at Kurt and that's when Kurt knew.  
  
He knew his dad was right, maybe he and Blaine being together was hopeless in the long run, but Blaine was worth it. He was worth any pain that came later if there was any chance at all of being with him now.  
  
Cooper got back and Kurt dropped Blaine's hand. There were still things that needed to be worked out. Cooper seemed satisfied that Blaine should be released. He looked back and forth between Kurt and Blaine. "Kurt would you drive Blaine home? And I'll drop by the drug store and get his pain medication."  
  
"Of course."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The car ride home was quiet, Blaine had been given some medication at the hospital to help with his head and the bruises on his abdomen and it was marking him tired. Kurt drove him home and kept stealing glances at him, placing his hand over Blaine's at every stop to brush his thumb over his skin. Blaine sighed and leaned his head back on the seat rest.  
  
"Hunter will be expelled." Blaine finally said.  
  
"Good." Kurt replied and there was an edge to his voice that Blaine hadn't heard before. He opened his eyes to look at him.  
  
"The Warblers aren't going to cheat."  
  
"I think they should all be disqualified anyway."  
  
"Kurt. The Warblers didn't do this to me. It was Hunter and a couple of his guys. All three of them will be expelled. Zero tolerance bullying policy, remember?"  
  
"This wouldn't have happened at all if the Warblers had just stood up for themselves yesterday." Kurt replied his voice still sounding steely.  
  
"Or it would have happened yesterday. I don't blame the Warblers."  
  
"You're more forgiving than I would be."  
  
"I doubt that Kurt. You always see the best in people."  
  
Kurt glanced at him and smiled so sweetly Blaine wanted to tell him again that he loved him, but kept it back. Blaine needed to talk to Cooper, a conversation that could end up a train wreck, but he couldn't go behind his brother's back. He was in love with Kurt and nothing was going to change that, but he loved Cooper too and didn't want to hurt him.  
  
They made it home before Cooper and Kurt helped Blaine upstairs, he was beginning to feel a little stiff and sore. He sat on his bed as Kurt started rummaging through his dresser looking for pajamas.  
  
"I can get those you know."  
  
"I don't want to hear it. Sit there and let me take care of you."  
  
Blaine smiled and took the clothes from Kurt.  
  
"I'm going to go make you some tea, you change and we are throwing out that shirt."  
  
"The tie too." Blaine said and felt bad as Kurt winced.  
  
He changed just like Kurt had ordered and was in bed when Kurt got back, "You'll need to eat with your prescription later, but are you hungry now?"  
  
"No. Kurt really, I am okay, just tired."  
  
Kurt nodded and then placed the tea on the lamp stand. "It's here if you want it." Kurt stood near the bed and fidgeted a little; Blaine reached out for his hand and made him sit down on the bed next to him.  
  
"Kurt." Blaine said cupping his face, he looked miserable.  
  
"Your school called and just said you'd been attacked and brought to the hospital." Kurt rushed out. "I didn't know how bad it was and…" He stopped obviously trying not to cry.  
  
Blaine leaned forward and kissed Kurt's forehead. "Everything is going to work out." Blaine assured him, and he meant more than just his recovery, he hoped Kurt understood that.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Kurt was in the living room when Cooper got home. He had wanted to stay upstairs in Blaine's room, but he thought he might be crossing a line into creepiness if he sat there and watched Blaine sleep.  
  
"How's he doing?" Cooper asked toeing off his shoes and sitting down on the sofa next to Kurt.  
  
"Asleep. He keeps acting like it isn't a big deal."  
  
Cooper nodded a serious look on his face that Kurt wasn't used to. "He was like that after the dance too. I don't know how much he told you about that, but he was unconscious for a few days, stuck in the hospital for longer than that, and then he had to do physical therapy to get back to normal. He kept trying to convince me it wasn't a big deal and he was fine. I think he just wanted to keep me from murdering the guys who did it too him."  
  
"What happened to them?"  
  
"Juvie." Cooper answered. "One is out already and has moved out of state the other two are still in."  
  
Kurt shuddered; he hated thinking of Blaine in that situation.  
  
Cooper interrupted his thoughts by clearing his throat nervously. "Kurt we need to talk."  
  
"Okay…" Kurt turned to give Cooper his full attention.  
  
"I... um… I'm not sure how to say this so I'm just going to go for it and I need you to hear me out, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, okay."  
  
Cooper cleared his throat again. "When I was first assigned a Lifemate I was devastated. I thought my life was over. I know that sounds like an attack on you, but it wasn't personal, I just… I've never wanted to be married. When I met you I thought, 'well at least he's cute and funny', but didn't expect much… from us… you know as a couple?"  
  
"Right." Kurt said not knowing where this was going. A few months ago these words might have hurt, but as it was, he was over Cooper in any romantic way.  
  
"But then I got to know you better and, well frankly Kurt you're… great. Amazing even. And I am glad I was paired with you because…"  
  
Oh god no. Kurt's stomach dropped, if Cooper was about to tell him he was in love with him Kurt was going to fall apart.  
  
"You look terrified." Cooper said stopping his train of thought. "Your face just got this ‘Oh my god I am about to be sentenced to death’ look on it."  
  
Kurt shook his head. "No… I just…"  
  
"Let me finish, I'll be fast." Cooper said. "I think you're great and I respect you a lot that's why it's hard for me to tell you that… Um… I've been cheating on you."  
  
Kurt stared at him blankly for a long moment. "What?"  
  
"I tried not to at first and then especially when I started to get to know you, but then it became glaringly clear that nothing was going to happen between us and I kind of went back to my, uh bachelor habits. When I'm on trips and stuff." He finished, looking guilty and nervous like he thought Kurt might explode on him.  
  
"You… you've been cheating on me when you're out of town?."  
  
Cooper had the decency to blush. "Yeah."  
  
Kurt wanted to be angry. He should be angry. His husband was sleeping around behind his back, but instead Kurt felt something else bubbling inside of him and before he knew it he burst out laughing. He held his stomach and toppled over with the force of it.  
  
"Oh… oh god Cooper!" He said when he finally caught his breath. "I thought you were going to say you were in love with me!"  
  
"No." Cooper said looking at Kurt like he might have lost his mind, "You were scared I was in love with you?"  
  
"I'm sorry Cooper, I don't mean to hurt your pride, but I don't love you. Not like that and I thought you had developed feelings for me and this is much, much better than that."  
  
Cooper smiled a little even though he still looked wary. "Obviously you're not in love with me Kurt. I've known that for a while." Cooper said and his smile grew. "I guess if we are making confessions there is another big one I should tell you."  
  
"Bigger than you cheating?"  
  
Cooper shrugged. "Um. Yes. You should know the reason I took so long to come around to the idea of moving to New York. I was waiting to see what Blaine was going to do and then I was going to do my best to move us to the opposite side of the country. So that you'd be away from him."  
  
Kurt's mirth immediately dried up.  
  
"You were trying to keep Blaine and I apart?" Oh god he knew. Cooper knew about them and he wanted to stop it.  
  
"Only because it was so apparent that my kid brother was, well is, crazy in love with you."  
  
"What?" Kurt squeaked out feeling his cheeks flush.  
  
"Yeah Kurt, he is seriously head-over-heels for you. But you're a harder nut to crack; I didn't think you felt the same way so I wanted to get you away from Blaine to protect him. But then the letter came from the Lifemate Registry and we all thought it was for Blaine and you about passed out-"  
  
"I didn't about pass out"  
  
Cooper ignored him, "And I realized it. You're in love with him too."  
  
Kurt didn't know what to say, this was all so much to take in at once.  
  
"That's when I decided we should all go to New York. You two can be together that way."  
  
"What?" Kurt knew he wasn't expressing himself very well, but this all seemed to be too good to be true.  
  
"You do love him right?" Cooper asked and for a split second his face hardened and Kurt decided he never wanted to get on Cooper's bad side.|  
  
"I… I haven't even told him that yet, but… yes." Kurt could hardly breathe, was Cooper actually okay with this?  
  
"Good."  
  
"Good?"  
  
"Yeah, good." Cooper smiled brightly. "Oh and thanks for not hating me over the cheating. You don't hate me over the cheating?"  
  
"Not at all." Kurt said still stunned.  
  
"Great!" Cooper stood from the couch. "I think we should move your stuff into the guest room, we're done pretending here, right?"  
  
Kurt blinked and nodded. He wanted to laugh or cry or shout from the rooftops, but he was still too shocked. Did Cooper just give him and Blaine a free pass to be together?


	17. Part One: XVII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have a some Klaine sexy times coming up here (finally!) and we are almost done with part one of this story. Enjoy!

Blaine blinked his eyes open as sun from his window flittered across his face. He stretched and then winced forgetting for a moment that he been roughed-up the day before. He looked out his window, the sun was high in the sky, he sat up in bed quickly. He was late for school.  
  
“Whoa, easy there Blaine.”  
  
Blaine glanced to the side to see Cooper sitting in a chair near his bed.  
  
“You aren’t late for school.” Cooper said as if reading Blaine’s mind. “Well, you’re not going to school today.”  
  
“Coop, I can go to school. I’m okay.” Blaine said his voice scratchy from just waking up.  
  
“Nope. You’re taking it easy today.”  
  
Blaine glanced at him; Cooper looked comfortable, sitting in the chair with a magazine in his lap.  
  
“Have you just been sitting there watching me sleep?”  
  
“Yup.”  
  
“That’s weird Cooper.”  
  
“Aw, not fair Squirt. I’ve been watching you sleep since you were a little baby.”  
  
“ _You’re_  weird Cooper.”  
  
Cooper smiled. “Yeah, but it’s genetic.”  
  
Blaine shook his head and laughed softly before rubbing a hand carefully across his brow, it was sore. “I need to talk you Cooper.” Blaine looked up at him worriedly; time to bite the bullet. Maybe Cooper would go easy on him since he was in “protective Cooper” mode right now.  
  
“Is this about Kurt?”  
  
Blaine’s heart thudded against his chest painfully.  
  
"Because I know you and him have been…  _getting it on_.”    
  
“What! No! We haven’t!” Blaine blurted out, that was the last thing he expected his brother to say.  
  
Cooper looked at him skeptically and then his eyebrows shot up. “Wait? You and Kurt really haven’t been fuc- fooling around?”  
  
Blaine felt the blood drain from his face. “No.” He rubbed his eyes. He was too tired for the conversation to take this surprising and unsettling turn. “We kissed.” Blaine said. “And that just recently happened, and we both didn’t want to go any further without telling you.”  
  
Cooper starred at him surprised. “Well I’m an asshole.  
  
“How are you the asshole in this situation?"  
  
“When Kurt started pulling away from me, like physically, I thought you two were you know…” Cooper made a somewhat obscene jester with his hands. “And I kind of sort of… I might have been hooking up on my business trips.”  
  
“You’ve been…” Suddenly Blaine felt really warm and his heart started pounding. “Cooper! What’s wrong with you? How could you do that to Kurt!”  
  
“Whoa! Whoa!” Cooper put his hands up in defense. “Down boy.”  
  
“This isn’t funny Cooper!”  
  
“I know I’m sorry. I honestly thought you two were _together_ together  and… then I realized that it wasn’t just hooking up but you two cared about each other and I figured Kurt wouldn’t care what I was doing, or at least I hoped.”  
  
Blaine was still fuming. “Kurt is going to be crushed.”  
  
Cooper smiled a little, “No, he was way more upset with you dating Sebastian than he was when I told him about my little indiscretions.”  
  
Blaine looked at his brother incredulously before burying his head in his heads.  
  
“You okay Blaine?”  
  
“You’re giving me a headache.” Blaine sighed eyes watering a little. He didn’t know if it was because of all that happened yesterday, or Cooper’s nonchalance about a situation that had been plaguing him for so long but Blaine was feeling really emotional. He wasn’t even out of bed yet and this was a lot to take in.  
  
“Kurt knows about the cheating?” Blaine finally asked.  
  
“Yeah, he actually laughed when I told him last night. Which was a relief because I don’t think I want to mess with Kurt when he’s mad.”  
  
Blaine was constantly being surprised by his brother and by Kurt, this was no exception.  
  
“So wait, how did you know anything was going on between Kurt and me? I only found out a couple days ago how Kurt felt.”  
  
Cooper rolled his eyes. “Oh my god, you both thought you were being so guarded and it seems like the only people you were fooling were each other.”  
  
Slowly it was donning on Blaine that his brother knew how he felt about Kurt and didn’t seem to mind. “So, I’m in love with your husband and you’re… okay with that?”  
  
“In love.” Cooper smiled. “My baby brother is all grown up.”  
  
“Cooper.”  
  
Cooper shrugged. “Kurt and I weren’t married by choice Blaine. I don’t think it should count.”  
  
“The government disagrees with you. And you two made promises when you were married-.” Blaine made himself stop talking, was he trying to talk his brother out of being okay with this?  
  
“Yeah, I know. But a promise made by force isn’t a real promise. It would be different if we had stood up together promising things we had wanted and decided to promise. I guess what I’m saying is if you have the chance to choose to be with someone you love, go for it Squirt.”  
  
Blaine swallowed and tried not to cry, Cooper never could handle people crying. “I… I just…” He wasn’t sure what to say. “I love him so much Coop.”  
  
Cooper smiled and then stood from his chair. “Well that’s good enough for me.”  
  
“You know you’re a lot wiser than people give you credit it for.” Blaine said teasingly.  
  
“Yeah well, don’t let that get around, I have an image to uphold.” He walked to the door. “Kurt moved to the guest room, in case you felt like going to find him.” Cooper winked and then left the room.  
  
Blaine sat still for a moment, all of this new information still settling inside of him. Then he jumped out of bed, not caring that he was still a little stiff and sore and quickly took a shower and got dressed for the day. He didn’t know why, Kurt had seen him sloppy and comfy before, but he really wanted to look his best.  
  
He pulled on his dark jeans that he knew looked really great on him, a red collared shirt and a dark sweater over it. He left his hair just lightly gelled and curly because he noticed that Kurt seemed to like it that way. There wasn’t much he could do about the bruises and cuts on his face though, his stitches looked rough and yellow and blue bloomed over his skin. He sighed; he really did feel alright, mostly, he just didn’t look it. There was nothing to do about it though and he wasn’t going to let it keep him from seeing Kurt. He walked down to the guest room and knocked on the door.  
  
Kurt answered quickly. “You’re awake.” He said with a small smile.  
  
“You changed rooms.” Blaine said bouncing on his toes.  
  
Kurt smiled softly and reaches up to brush his hand down Blaine’s face, where he wasn’t hurt. Blaine’s heart skipped a beat.  
  
“Cooper and I talked about it and it seemed like the best idea.” He dropped his hand and motioned for Blaine to follow him in. Kurt sat down cross-legged on the bed and started fidgeting with the seam on his pants nervously. Suddenly Blaine felt uncertain. He knew how he felt about Kurt, but what if this was all too much for Kurt? What if Cooper’s cheating had affected him more than Cooper knew? What if Kurt had changed his mind?  
  
Blaine sat next to him on the bed and grabbed his hands, making him stop before he pulled the thread on his pants loose.  
  
“Kurt look at me.”  
  
Kurt was looking down at his lap and he let out a sigh before he looked up at Blaine with wide eyes that Blaine couldn’t read.  
  
“Is everything okay?”  
  
Kurt bit his lip. “I love you Blaine.” He gushed out quickly and then looked at Blaine with such trepidation that Blaine had a hard time understanding what was going on.  
  
Blaine smiled, those words sinking into his skin and making him feel like he was floating. Kurt loved him.  _Kurt loved him._  “I love you too.”  
  
A smile twitched at Kurt’s lips. “So… you’re brother seems to think we can be together.” Kurt said glancing away.  
  
Blaine’s hurt shuttered in his chest. “Can’t we?”  
  
Kurt looked at him sadly. “Not forever.”  
  
Realization hit Blaine like a wave. “My Lifemate letter.” He said. “You’re worried about my Lifemate letter.”  
  
“It just means that there is an expiration date on us. If there were to be an  _us_.”  
  
Blaine nodded and looked down at the bedspread. “I understand if you don’t want to give this a try Kurt.” His voice was a bare whisper and he felt like the next few moments might break him.  
  
Kurt reached for Blaine’s face and tilted his chin up so that their eyes met. “Maybe I’m selfish Blaine, but our timeline doesn’t make me want you any less. I don’t care, I want you, I love you.”   
  
Kurt’s eyes were watering and Blaine couldn’t hold back anymore, he surged forward bringing his lips to Kurt’s. Kurt sucked in a quick, surprised breath of air and then wrapped his arms around Blaine pulling him closer and closer. Hands drifting up his back as lips heatedly moved together.

* * *

Kurt’s skin was hot and tingling as Blaine kissed him and Kurt grabbed onto him as they toppled down against the mattress. Gasping and kissing recklessly, lips pressed against any part of Blaine’s skin they landed on. Kurt felt like he was going to buzz out of his skin with need. The need to have Blaine close, the need to know that Blaine loved him as much as Kurt was in love. The need to know that they’d be happy together even if it wouldn’t be forever. He just needed Blaine right now. All of him.

  
Blaine seemed as desperate as Kurt felt, panting and gasping as his hands roamed Kurt’s body and his lips moved across Kurt’s lips and down his neck.  
  
“ _God Blaine_.” Kurt breathed.  
  
Blaine paused for a moment and hovered over him bringing their faces close. “If you are willing so am I to give us a chance.” He said with a kiss. “I’ll be yours for as long as you’ll have me.” He kissed him again.  
  
Kurt laughed a little, so full of joy. Even the knowledge that it couldn’t last wasn’t enough to steal his happiness in this moment.  
  
“We’ll have to be careful.” He said as Blaine’s lips moved to his jaw. “People will need to think I’m happily married to Cooper or the Lifemate Registry will investigate.” Blaine’s lips were hot on his neck. “We… we…” Kurt’s thoughts were getting jumbled. “We won’t be able to be a couple publicly.” Blaine’s lips settled on the sensitive skin between his neck and his shoulder and Kurt groaned as his eyelids fluttered close.  
  
“But we’ll be together?” Blaine murmured against his skin.  
  
“Yes.” Kurt breathed out.  
  
“That’s all I need.” Blaine’s hands were sliding against Kurt’s skin under his shirt making him shudder. He needed more of Blaine; he started tugging Blaine’s sweater off him and then attacked the buttons of his shirt.  
  
“Is this okay?” Kurt asked.  
  
“God yes.” Blaine shrugged his shirt off as they pulled apart a bit and knelt on the bed, Kurt eyes glanced over Blaine’s body the cuts on his face and the bruises on his stomach making Kurt want to cry a little.  
  
“Are you in pain?”  
  
“No.” Blaine said, he leaned forward and kissed Kurt. “Not with you.”  
  
Kurt knew he should roll his eyes at such a cheesy line, but he couldn’t when Blaine was looking at him with such sincerity in his eyes. Kurt pulled his own shirt over his head and blushed when he saw Blaine staring at his exposed skin.  
  
Blaine blinked rapidly and then reached out to brush his fingertips down Kurt’s chest and abdomen stopping at Kurt’s waistband. Kurt shivered at the touch goosebumps rising on his skin.  He reached down and covered Blaine’s hand with his own and then with his other hand he unzipped his pants and started shimmying out of them. Blaine watched him, his breathing heavy and his tan skin flushed. Kurt hesitated a moment before he pulled off his briefs as well. He’d never been this exposed in front of anyone in his adult life, not even that night with Cooper. He trusted Blaine, he felt safe with Blaine.  
  
Blaine whimpered a little, eyes growing round as the slowly took in every inch of Kurt’s naked body. “ _God_ ,” Blaine whispered his voice shaking. Then reached for his own jeans slipping out of them. He looked at Kurt for a long moment and Kurt gave him an encouraging smile. He was baring all here, but didn’t want Blaine to feel like he had to as well. Blaine dived in for a quick kissed before working his underwear off himself.  
  
They knelt on the bed just looking at each other for a moment. Kurt had never just looked at a naked man before and he felt a little light-headed. Blaine was so beautiful. Skin tan, muscles tight and defined but not bulging. There was bruising on his stomach that was upsetting, but Kurt was admittedly distracted from that by Blaine’s utter nakedness. Kurt’s lips quirked up into a smile and then he started to laugh. Light, happy peals, evidence of the joy he couldn’t contain.   
  
Blaine looked at him worriedly for a moment before he started to laugh as well, his cheeks turning a lovely shade of red. Kurt pulled him close, practically slamming their bodies together as they fell back down on the mattress again.  
  
Kurt giggled and then kissed Blaine’s mouth, letting his tongue explore as Blaine’s hands found Kurt’s hips and hung on tightly, the feeling of Blaine’s strong, sure hands on him was intoxicating. Without even thinking, Kurt started rutting against Blaine, quickly getting hard and feeling Blaine follow suit. It felt better than anything Kurt could have ever imagined. That one time with Cooper, had been quick and heady and it felt good. But this? _God, this was heaven_.  
  
Blaine lifted and wrapped a leg around Kurt’s thigh and tilted his hips up against Kurt’s, moaning as he did. “I... I love you.” He panted out.  
  
Kurt couldn’t even speak, but he hoped Blaine could feel how much he loved him. They were moving fast, grinding against each other and it would be over soon. Kurt didn’t want that. He took a deep breath and forced himself to slow down, rocking back and forth over Blaine, their bodies both a little sweaty and Blaine letting out these little hitched moans that were the single most beautiful sound Kurt had ever heard.    
  
They rolled over onto their sides still tangled together as Kurt worked his hand down Blaine’s lower back to his ass until his fingers were able to grab and hold on.  
  
Blaine bucked and cried out. “Oh god, yes, do that.”  
  
Kurt bucked against Blaine, their erections sliding almost agonizingly together.  
  
“We... we need…” Kurt gulped. “We need lube… if we’re going to do anything…” He couldn’t say anymore as Blaine’s hard cock slid against his own.  
  
Blaine pulled his face back a little. “I know Cooper has some in his room.”  
  
“Go.” Kurt said. “Go please.”  
  
“What?” Blaine pulled his body away from Kurt slightly to look at him better. “But Cooper might be out there.”  
  
“He’s your brother!”  
  
Blaine smiled and kissed Kurt’s forehead. “Fine.” He got up and grabbed the blanket from the end of the bed wrapping it around himself. Kurt tried to hold back a laugh at the sight.  
  
“Hey. No laughing.” Blaine said. “It isn’t easy to look dignified when you are going on a condom dash!”  
  
Kurt rolled over to his back and covered his face when his hands holding back his mirth. When he looked up again Blaine was just standing there staring at him. “Blaine.”  
  
“Right. Right.” He said his voice hoarse and he left the room.  
  
Kurt took a deep breath and moved to rest his head on a pillow trying to strike a sexy pose for when Blaine got back, but he just felt ridiculous. He was rewarded though when Blaine came entered into the room shutting the door behind him and let out a long sigh, eyes roaming Kurt’s body.  
  
“God Kurt. You’re so perfect.  
  
“Oh please.” Kurt said but couldn’t keep the pleased smirk off of his face. Blaine let the blanket drop and Kurt took in a quick breath. Blaine really was the perfect one. Lean and compact and,  _fuck_  so lovely. Blaine hurried back over to the bed and attacked Kurt with a long deep kiss that left him a little breathless.  
  
Blaine dumped a handful of condoms and a tube of lube on the bed. "Please Kurt."  
  
Kurt licked his lips and picked up the lube, coating his fingers as Blaine kissed down his body driving him wild. Blaine got to his hard cock and licked across the head of it making Kurt cry out.  
  
"If... If you keep doing that this isn't going to last long."  
  
Blaine hummed and then stretched his body over Kurt's as Kurt moved his hand down between their bodies slowly circling Blaine’s cock with his fist and coating it with lube. Blaine moaned and tumbled against him and Kurt’s eyes filled with happy tears. Blaine reached for Kurt’s erection working his hand over it and soon they were rocking together, easier now with the lube between them.  
  
Kurt glanced at the condoms, but his didn’t think they were going to last long enough to need them. Blaine seemed to sense what Kurt was thinking, he pulled his face back a little. His eyes were dark and his hair curled with sweat around his temples, “Just this Kurt… this is all we need for now… there will be other times.”   
  
Kurt nodded; he was willing to go further than just rutting together, but Blaine was right, for now this felt right.   
  
“God Kurt. You’re so perfect.” Blaine said as he kissed him languidly, both of them rolling their hips slowly drawing things out. “You’re gorgeous.”  
  
They rolled over again until Kurt was on top of Blaine leaning over him and moving against Blaine, both of them rutting against each other. Blaine kissed him and Kurt moaned into it, before crying out, “Oh fuck, god yes!”. Blaine was a panting whimpering mess under him, plaited and completely surrendered to the heat of the moment. Blaine's breath was uneven and Kurt pause a moment even as his body trembled with desire. "Are you okay?" Kurt asked.  
  
"I'm wonderful." Blaine said almost groggily. "Never thought… I’d have this with you... I..." He bucked and whined and Kurt felt like he was falling apart watching him. Kurt thrust against him again and whimpered. He leaned down to kiss Blaine’s neck and whispered nonsense to him as they continued to move together, sweat slick and minds fuzzy with desire.    
  
Blaine lifted himself up a little to kiss Kurt deeper and they bumped teeth and then noses, Kurt let out a breathy laugh as Blaine feel back against the bed with a smile. Kurt laid down over him and kept moving, the sensation of having Blaine’s body and limbs all around making him feel complete.  
  
Blaine began to grunt and pant, their kisses growing sloppy and Kurt could feel Blaine's hot erection sliding against his stomach. Blaine moved a hand down to Kurt’s ass and hung on as his cries got louder and louder before he threw his head back and came. The sticky warmth between their bodies and the sound of Blaine's hoarse cry brought Kurt close, he moved against Blaine a few more times and then the tight heat in his belly snapped and his cum mixing with Blaine between their hot skin.  
  
“Oh god Blaine!” He cried his body trembling as heat and pleasure and joy rushed through him before he toppled down onto Blaine.  
  
They stayed together for a moment their bodies sweaty and close. Kurt blinked open his eyes and lifted his body a little. Blaine was staring at him, his face relaxed and a smile tugging on his lips. Kurt kissed him again and then slid up his body to get a better reach, Blaine moaned as their over sensitive cocks brushing together.  
  
Kurt rolled off of him, but Blaine just looked at him with wide eyes and Kurt didn’t want to be far from him for long. His whole body felt like jelly as he leaned off the bed and picked up the blanket Blaine had dropped unceremoniously using it to clean himself off and then wiping off Blaine's stomach. He then collapsed next to Blaine, tangling their legs together and wrapping Blaine in his arms.  
  
Kurt’s eyes scanned over Blaine’s flushed skin that still had ugly bruises splotched across it from yesterday. “That wasn’t too much was it? I didn’t hurt you did I?”  
  
“No Kurt. That was… perfect.” He answered as his eyes fluttered closed  
  
"I love you." Kurt said and Blaine smiled and drew Kurt in closer until his head was resting on Blaine's chest.  
  
"I love you too." He said with a sigh.  
  
Kurt couldn't help the little laugh that bubbled out of him. This was the most perfect moment of his life and he didn’t want it to end.


	18. Part One: XVIII - End of Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Today I post the end of Part One of this story and will start posting Part Two soon. Have you ever written something and think to yourself, "yes this is beautiful" and then go back and reread it and think, "what a huge pile of soppy fluff"? That would be this chapter. lol.  
> Anyway, this is where I was going to originally the end of this story and then you know... it wasn't, but this is a mini-end and reads like one. Let me know what you think and I'll post more soon!

They stayed upstairs in Kurt's new room for most of the afternoon and finally made themselves get up because Blaine's stomach was growling and Kurt insisted that he ate and took some pain medication. Blaine narrowly stopped himself from saying that Kurt was all the drugs he needed. God, being happy made him kind of a dork.  
  
They got cleaned up and dressed and went downstairs to find Cooper in the living room. He took one look and their happy faces and linked hands and rolled his eyes. "Oh god, it's going to be gross living with you two now isn't it?"  
  
Blaine laughed and Kurt just blushed.  
  
"I think it will make up for years of you bringing home girls."  
  
Cooper waggled his eyebrows, "Yeah, I do have game."  
  
"That wasn't a compliment Cooper."  
  
Kurt interrupted. "I think we'll make diner. I don't think Blaine's eaten anything all day."  
  
"Don't worry about it!" Cooper said hopping up from the sofa, "I cooked."  
  
"You cooked?" Kurt said arching an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah. Pizza. It should be here any minute."  
  
The pizza did arrive shortly after that and Cooper insisted they all eat together in the rarely used dining room. "I have surprises for you."  
  
"More surprises Cooper?" Blaine asked and Cooper just smiled.  
  
When they sat down at the table Cooper placed two gifts down, one in front of Blaine and one in front of Kurt.  
  
"You got us gifts?" Kurt asked in surprise. "Why?"  
  
Cooper finished chewing a big bite of pizza. "I guess I'm just happy for you two. I know this is a really weird situation, but…" He shrugged. "I just wanted you to know I'm good with it. With you two being together."  
  
Blaine could feel himself tearing up. Maybe on paper Kurt would always be Cooper's husband, but Cooper was letting them have a chance to be happy, for as long as they could.  
  
Kurt seemed equally choked up. "Thank you." He said quietly.  
  
"Open them!" Cooper sat grinning like an idiot. "They are both for both of you, but Blaine should go first."  
  
Blaine unwrapped his gift and opened the box; he stared at it for a moment before shutting the lid again. " _Cooper_!"  
  
He had just opened a box full of lube, condoms and  _toys_.  
  
"You don't have to use mine now. Not that I mind." He winked.  
  
Kurt groaned and covered his face. "This is humiliating." Blaine couldn’t help but smile at how flushed his skin had become.  
  
"Well you two weren't exactly subtle about what you’ve been doing today."  
  
"Should we be scared to open the other one?" Blaine asked, quickly changing the subject.

"No, you  _have_  to open it."  
  
Kurt glanced at Blaine warily and then opened the gift placed in front of him. Inside his box was an envelope, he opened it and pulled out two airplane vouchers.

Blaine looked at his brother questioningly.  
  
"It's a trip to New York. I know we don't get to move until July or August, but you can use them when Kurt goes to audition for NYADA again and you two can just have a trip together."  
  
"I don't even know if I'm going to get an audition again." Kurt said.  
  
"You will." Blaine answered with a confident smile putting his hand over Kurt's.  
  
Kurt shook his head and looked at Cooper. "This is really generous; you didn't have to do this."  
  
"Well I might feel a little bad about going around behind your back when you and Blaine were being such tortured goody two-shoes."  
  
"Thank you Cooper." Blaine said beaming, a trip to New York for just him and Kurt sounded perfect.  
  
Blaine spent some time that evening talking to his brother about how they were still going to have to make it look like Cooper and Kurt were a couple and Cooper understood. Just because the three of them were going to live as though Cooper and Kurt weren't Lifemates didn't mean they could be public about it.  
  
Kurt was in his room for a long time talking to his dad and Blaine was left feeling nervous and antsy. Kurt insisted that Burt would be good with things, and that he already pretty much knew what was going on, but Blaine was still afraid that Burt wouldn't like it. That Burt wouldn’t approve of him. He was worried for nothing though. The next time he saw Burt he just gave Blaine a big hug. "You take care of my boy." He said. "And be careful."  
  
"I will." Blaine promised. "We'll take care of each other.  
  
They had been right about Kurt getting another chance at NYADA. The week the Warblers went to Regoinals Kurt got his pre-acceptance letter from NYADA asking him to come and audition. Blaine ended up not joining the Warblers again even when Hunter had been expelled. He knew that Trent and some other guys were on the Council now and wished the best for them, but his Warbler days were behind him. New Directions ended up winning Regoinals, but Kurt and Blaine were more focused on each other and their upcoming trip to New York to take much notice.  
  
Blaine got some time off from school (Cooper talked to the administration, he could be very persuasive) and so he and Kurt could go to New York in April for Kurt's audition.  
  
Blaine was at school the day before they were to leave and was texting Kurt all day. He was so focus on reading a text from Kurt that he almost ran right into Sebastian in the hallway. He looked up and then took a step back, feeling like they were too close to each other.  
  
Sebastian smirked. "I don't bite you know."  
  
"I know-"  
  
"Actually I do bite.' Sebastian said leaning forward, "If you're into that."  
  
Blaine rolled his eyes, he and Sebastian hadn't had much contact since things fell apart with the Warblers and Blaine had decided to make sure Sebastian knew their breakup was for real.  
  
"Sorry." Sebastian said with a smile. "Bad habit."  
  
"Right." Blaine continued walking, but Sebastian followed him.  
  
"What Blaine, we can't even be friends now? We can even talk to each other in the hall? We were friends before we ever dated you know."  
  
"Yes and you were always trying to get me to go out with you."  
  
‘Oh yeah…" Sebastian said with a grin big enough to make Blaine not able to hold back a smile himself. "We could  _try_  and be friends." Sebastian said hopefully.  
  
"The school year is almost over and I'm going to New York in the fall."  
  
"Blaine, come on."  
  
Blaine stopped, he hated feeling like he was being mean. "Yes, okay. We can be friends. But Sebastian, you've got to stop hitting on me."  
  
"Why, do you have a big scary boyfriend I should know about?"  
  
Blaine glared at him.  
  
"No hitting on you, sheesh. Fine. As long as you aren't dating your husband's little tw- uh… Cooper's husband." He said catching himself before saying something that would make Blaine angry.  
  
Blaine stopped and stared at him. Did even Sebastian notice something was between him and Kurt? God, they were going to have to be so careful if they were going to keep this a secret.  
  
Sebastian looked at him incredulously. "Oh my god. You  _are_  with Kurt!"  
  
"What? That's ridiculous Sebastian. He's married to Cooper."  
  
"Well, shit. I never had a chance did I?" Sebastian continued ignoring Blaine's protest. "It's been him  
from the beginning hasn't it? I should have known when you first introduced me and told me how  _amazing_  he was."  
  
"Sebastian,  _please_." Blaine pleaded nervously.  
  
Sebastian shook his head. "God, you're in a hell of a mess. You could land in serious trouble there is no way he is worth that."  
  
"He is."  
  
Sebastian sighed. "Whatever, your funeral. We won't talk about it."  
  
Blaine nodded. "I'm sorry about the Warblers not winning Regionals."  
  
"At least we lost fair and square. I'll always wonder if we would have won if we hadn’t driven you out. I guess karma is a bitch."  
  
"You'll be in college this time next year." Blaine said. "And show choir won't seem as important."  
  
Sebastian smiled before they parted ways in the parking lot. Blaine was glad they were friendly again, even if he would probably have to keep Sebastian in line.  
  
When he got home that afternoon, he found his and Kurt's suitcases lined up next to each other by the doorway, packed and ready for their early departure the next morning. Blaine smiled and his heart swelled. Just the simple sight of seeing his and Kurt's luggage together made everything feel more real. He and Kurt were together, they were dating. Yes, they had to keep it a secret and that may be all they would ever really have, but it was enough. It was enough to know Kurt loved him.  
  
Kurt caught him staring at the suitcases and interrupted his thoughts by wrapping his arms around him from behind and pressing soft kisses to his neck. "Tomorrow we'll be in New York together."  
  
Blaine smiled and turned his head to bump it against Kurt's. "Are you nervous about your audition?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You've made it in before, you will again." Blaine said and Kurt just squeezed him tighter.  
  
When he and Kurt got to New York City they spent some time with Rachel Berry. Kurt had already told her about him and Blaine. They had decided together that they would tell their families in Blaine's case that just meant Cooper really. For Kurt in meant his dad, Carole and Finn. They had discussed a while if Finn was capable of keeping a secret, but decided when it came to the big things he could be trusted.

They eventually chose to tell Rachel as well because now that they were moving to New York she'd be around a lot and they didn't want to have to pretend not to be together in front of her. Rachel thought it was, "so tragically romantic" that she immediately promised to keep their secret.  
  
She took them around as if she owned the city and told them about all the spots she thought were the most romantic. You would have thought Rachel had single-handedly gotten them together for how proud she was. Blaine liked her though, and Kurt was so happy to see his friend that Blaine couldn't help but be happy too.  
  
They spent plenty of time alone together as well. Cooper had booked them one king-sized room and they didn't complain knowing that two rooms would have been a waste of money anyway. They spent hours in bed making each other moan and hours walking hand in hand down the streets of New York making each other smile and laugh.  
  
They went to Central Park and Blaine posed for a cheesy picture with the statue of Hans Christian Anderson. They went to Times Square and just stood hand in hand watching the people pass by, and of course, they went to Broadway. "I'm going to perform here one day." Kurt said.  
  
"I know you will."  
  
"You are too." Kurt said with a smile and Blaine planted a kiss on his cheek.  
  
"I think I'd like to perform for a little while and then retire and teach."  
  
"I like that. It suits you. I can just see it now, coming home from a long day of rehearsals and you are sitting in the living room grading papers." He smiled, but then it got a little wobbly and Kurt's eyes turned sad.  
  
Blaine cupped Kurt's neck and ran a thumb cross his jaw, then he kissed him until the sadness in his eyes ebbed away.  
  
The next day Blaine and Rachel sat in the back of the auditorium with the other friends and family of the NAYADA hopefuls as Kurt auditioned. An intimidating Carmen Tibideaux watched Kurt silently from the front row as he sang a remarkable and passionate version of "As Long as You're Mine"  
  
Blaine couldn't help jumping up on his feet and cheering when Kurt finished. Rachel equally excited and a little teary eyed by his side. Madame Tibideaux was quiet for a moment as Kurt stood on stage panting. Then she slowly took of her glasses, a stoic look on her face, before she broke out in a smile.  
  
"We'll be sending you a letter of course, but I look forward to seeing you at NYADA this fall Kurt Hummel.  
  
Kurt just stood there dumbly for a moment before clasping his hands together. "Thank you! Thank you!" He said and she waved him off the stage.  
  
Blaine met Kurt outside of the auditorium catching him in his arms and spinning around. "Kurt you did it!"  
  
Kurt kissed him fiercely and then pulled back his cheeks pink and his eyes dancing. "It's happening. It is actually happening! We're going to be here this fall. In New York,  _together_."  
  
Blaine smiled sweetly. "It will be perfect."  
  
They didn't really talk about how their bliss could end at any moment. They could have years together or just days. So instead of worrying they seemed to have made an unspoken decision to just try and be happy together.  
  
"This is cause for celebration!" Rachel cried clapping her hands. "Time to paint the town red!"  
  
That night they celebrated out on the town with Rachel and then privately back in their room together. Blaine held Kurt close as he tucked himself into Blaine's side. They were both a little sweaty after their private celebration, but too happy and sedated to care. Kurt traced shapes across Blaine's chest with his fingertips as his warm breath puffed out against his skin  
  
_"And just for this moment, as long as you're mine."_ Kurt started to sing, " _I've lost all resistance and crossed some borderline."_  
  
Blaine chuckled a little hoping it didn't sound sad.  
  
" _And if it turns out it's over too fast I'll make every last moment last_." Kurt sang, his voice beautiful and going straight to Blaine's heart.  
  
Blaine took that moment to pull Kurt up for a long kiss, tugging on his lips and breathing together.  
  
_"As long as you're mine."_  Blaine finished for him.


	19. Part Two: I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there is a little bit of a time jump from the last chapter to this, you'll catch up. Also HUGE thank you to the very kind and considerate Oleanna who is doing some beta work for me (oh happiest of days!!)
> 
> tw: Mention of canon character death

Kurt's hand slammed against the wet tile of the shower wall as he strained to stay on his feet. He was gasping and shuddering as Blaine's mouth worked down his body. Tongue circling his nipples and then down till his lips pressed against Kurt's abdomen and lower and lower until Kurt was pressed up against the side of the shower with his head thrown back and eyes clenched closed.  
  
Blaine made his way to Kurt's hard cock and he kissed down the length of it, making Kurt whine and his knees wobble. Kurt could feel Blaine's wet warm breath puff against him as he chuckled and his hands came up to hold Kurt's waist and help him stay on his feet. Then Blaine licked up the underside of Kurt's erection and Kurt doubled over a little bit shouting as his hands found Blaine's hair and curled into his thick locks.  
  
Blaine mouthed against Kurt's sensitive skin a little while longer before he took Kurt in deep, swirling his tongue and making Kurt whimper. Then he started bobbling his head and moved an arm to press across Kurt's hips to keep him still as Kurt instinctively started thrusting forward into Blaine's mouth.  
  
" _Oh god oh god oh god_." Kurt moaned as the warm water of the shower ran down his body and the warm heat of Blaine's mouth engulfed him. He was quivering and so close to coming.  
  
"Blaine. I can't… I can't keep…"  
  
Blaine just hummed around his cock sending vibrations through it and making the heat pooling low in Kurt stomach stir and his cock twitch in Blaine's mouth. Blaine looked up at him with bright golden eyes as he continued to bob on Kurt's cock and the sight of him was the last straw.  
  
" _Blaine_!" Kurt shouted, his hands still in Blaine's hair as his eyes closed and his head rolled back and he started to come.  
  
Blaine stayed where he was, swallowing it down as Kurt trembled and his legs finally gave out. Blaine pulled off with a smacking noise and Kurt slid down the wall, boneless, until he was face to face with Blaine.  
  
Blaine was kneeling naked in front of him as the water ran down his tan skin in rivulets.  
  
"God Blaine." Kurt said, leaning forward until his head rested on Blaine's shoulder. "I just needed to take a quick shower and get ready for school."  
  
Blaine chuckled and then got back on his feet, pulling Kurt up with him and pressing him against the wall again to kiss him deeply. When he finally pulled back, his eyes were so close Kurt couldn't look away from them.  
  
"You've seemed a little stressed about school lately." Blaine said while kissing down Kurt’s neck. "Thought you could use a little morning stress relief."  
  
Kurt sighed and shook his head, meaning to reprimand Blaine for getting him behind schedule but not having the heart. Plus, he’d just come down Blaine's throat so it wasn't like he could really argue about how they'd spent their time. And Blaine was right. NYADA was stressful as the school year started winding to an end.  
  
Kurt let his hand travel down Blaine's chest to his belly and he seductively kept his eyes locked with Blaine's. "What about you? I could help you out..."  
  
"Uh... I already did..."  
  
Kurt glanced down to see Blaine's once hard erection soft now. The thought of Blaine jerking himself off while taking care of him was hot enough to make Kurt moan again.  
  
"God Blaine."  
  
"This was just something I wanted to do for you."  
  
Kurt smiled and sighed and kissed Blaine again before making himself get out of the shower. "I really do have to get ready to go."  
  
Kurt left the shower reluctantly as Blaine started to wash his hair. He really wished he had time to stay and do that for him, Blaine loved it when Kurt shampooed his hair, tangling his fingers in Blaine's curls and rubbing his scalp, but that would have to be for another day.  
  
By the time Kurt was ready for school, he had to rush out of the apartment, and he would still be a little late for class. It was near the end of the school year, though, and he'd done well all year; he knew he'd catch up. Blaine met him at the front door wearing nothing but a towel slung around his waist, a mischievous smile and his curls dripping with water. He winked and handed Kurt a thermos of coffee to-go.  
  
"You don't have to look so smug." Kurt said, but his own lips were tipping up in a smile.  
  
Blaine just stared at him, eyes heavy and intense like he'd go again right then if he had the chance. "Sorry to make you late."  
  
Kurt laughed. "No. You're not."  
  
"No, I'm not." He grinned.  
  
Kurt kissed him quickly and then headed out. "See you this evening!' He called as he hurried down the hall.  
  
He glanced back once only to see Blaine watching him go, leaning against the doorframe and sighing. Kurt shook his head, he knew the feeling.  
  
When they finally moved to their own place last year they had a hard time getting anything done; they made good use their new found privacy, not fearing Cooper walking in on them. He had a couple of times when they all still lived in Westerville and the memory of it still made Kurt blush crimson.  
  
Kurt and Blaine were able to get away with living together because Cooper had his own apartment in the same building. Of course, Cooper's bachelor pad was leased under Blaine's name while Kurt and Blaine's place was actually under Kurt and Cooper Anderson-Hummel's names. They were all in and out of each other's apartments so much they hoped the neighbors weren't catching on.  
  
Kurt had just a few more weeks left of his first year at NYADA and then the blessed summer. He and Blaine would have so much time together – he had a trip coming up with Cooper that Blaine wouldn't be able to go on, keeping up the appearance of still being with Cooper was important – but the summer months would be for just the two of them.  
  
No juggling two school schedules, plus their heavy homework load, or the plays they had both individually been in. Kurt had snagged one of the major roles in NYADA's spring production and Blaine had gotten a role in a NYU spring play too. It had felt like they hadn't seen each other for months.  
  
Things were winding down now, though, and Kurt was grateful for it. He felt guilty for being so busy sometimes. He knew it was ridiculous to feel that way; he'd always known that NYADA would be demanding and time consuming.  
  
Mostly he was okay with his and Blaine’s busy schedules, but every once in a while, he'd be struck anew with the thought that his time with Blaine was limited. That any day they could get a piece of mail that would shatter the life they had built together. Then he'd be angry with himself for spending extra time at school, so shouldn't he spend every moment with Blaine?  
  
Of course, they both knew that wasn't realistic, Blaine was constantly reminding him that they needed to just be happy and live their lives and not just sit around afraid of a day they had no way of knowing when would come. So Kurt let himself get involved in NYADA, but still worked hard to treasure the time he had with Blaine.  
  
They kept going as if things were normal. Both of them in school, Cooper splitting his time between California and New York. Kurt went with Cooper to L.A. sometimes, just so they could be seen together.  
  
Kurt would have even more reason to go to L.A. soon. After years of talking of nothing but New York and Broadway, Rachel was planning on moving to L.A. She had quit NAYDA in the fall once she landed a lead Broadway role and couldn't manage it and her classes, and now it seemed like she was going to leave Broadway for acting in Hollywood.  
  
Kurt hoped for the best for her, but wasn't sure what she was thinking. Of course, things had been really hard since Finn passed away last summer. It had changed Rachel, it had changed them all.  
  
Kurt remembered getting the call and just clinging to Blaine for hours crying and pouring his heart out. Kurt, Blaine, Cooper and Rachel had all gone back to Ohio for the service, it was the hardest thing Kurt had ever done, and he almost decided to stay in Lima to be with his dad and Carol. They ended up convincing him to go back home to New York with Blaine to live his dreams. Kurt wondered if Rachel's dream changing had anything to do with the fact that she had always pictured somehow being in New York with Finn.  
  
Kurt couldn't help but wonder how empty New York would feel without Blaine. Of course, it wasn't the same as losing Finn; Blaine's Lifemate letter wasn't Blaine dying, but it would be the end of  _them_. Kurt shuddered at the thought and pushed it to the back of his mind as he hopped on his train to school.  
  
_Just be happy for now. Just be happy for now_. Kurt thought. It was his usual mantra.  
  
Kurt was distracted by his phone dinging, he looked down to see a text message from a number he didn't recognize.  
  
_Have you heard from Santana recently?_ _  
  
_ Kurt blinked at the message. He'd seen Santana briefly at Finn's memorial months ago, and before that he hadn't seen her since she got married.  
  
He texted back.  _No, not really. And I'm sorry who is this?_ _  
  
It's Quinn._  Came the reply and then, _I got your number from Rachel._ _  
  
_ Kurt furrowed his brow, he and Quinn had gotten along fine in High School, he'd always liked her even in her more bitchy days, but they'd never been close. He  _had_  been closer to Santana, and regretted not having kept up with her. He got out at his stop and would have given Quinn a call, but he was running late so instead he just sent out another text.  
  
_What's up with Santana?_  
  
He waited but Quinn didn't text back. He went through several classes and still didn't hear from her. By the time he got home that evening, he'd mostly stopped thinking about it aside from a small persistent ache in the back of his mind, a regret that he had no idea what was going on with his old friend Santana. He should have done a better job keeping up with her after she was matched.


	20. Part Two: II

Kurt was waiting for Cooper to come up and tell him he was ready to leave; he checked the time on his phone, Cooper always ran a little late. Then he looked up to see Blaine puttering around the living room like he was lost in his own apartment. Blaine never said anything about Kurt going away with Cooper, but he didn't have to. Kurt knew Blaine well enough to see that it bothered him  
  
He walked up to Blaine who was rearranging the magazines on their coffee table. "Blaine. Sweetie?"  
  
Blaine looked up, lifting his eyebrows.  
  
"You've rearranged those two times already."  
  
Blaine stood up straight and sighed. "Sorry."  
  
Kurt furrowed his brow and walked up to him wrapping his arms around Blaine's shoulders. "Why are you sorry?"  
  
"I know I always get weird when you and Cooper…" He trailed off.  
  
"It's just a business trip." Kurt said. "Nothing more."  
  
"I know that. I do."  
  
Kurt pressed his lips softly against Blaine's neck near his ear. "You don't have to worry."  
  
"I know."  
  
He kissed further down Blaine's neck and smiled when Blaine unconsciously tilted his head to give Kurt better access. "It's all just for looks." Kurt whispered against his skin.  
  
"I-I know."  
  
Kurt dragged his lips down Blaine's neck making goosebumps raise on Blaine's skin. "I love you Blaine."  
  
"I love… I love you too."  
  
Kurt lifted his face to kiss Blaine's lips. "I  _only_  love you." His lips brushed against Blaine's.  
  
Blaine smiled into the kiss. "I know."  
  
Kurt pulled back and leaned his forehead against Blaine's, "Then don't worry."  
  
Blaine nodded.  
  
Blaine never got jealous when Kurt spent time with Cooper here in New York, even if it was just the two of them, but there was something about them taking trips together that always seemed to fray Blaine's nerves. Kurt knew that Blaine trusted him so he had a hard time understanding where the unease came from, but he'd do everything he could to make Blaine feel better before he left.  
  
Kurt pressed in to kiss him again when their front door banged open. Cooper never did anything quietly.  
  
"Hey Kurt! You ready to go?"  
  
It was moments like this that he regretted that Cooper had a key.  
  
Kurt sighed and pulled back from Blaine a little, smiling at him and keeping eye contact as he did. "Yeah, I'm ready." Kurt answered while still gazing at Blaine.  
  
"I'm fine." Blaine smiled back at him. "Go, I know you like to get to airports early."  
  
"I'll be back in a few days."  
  
"Be sure to catch us on TV!" Cooper said, not picking up on the heavy feeling in the room. "I'm sure E! or Extra or something will be covering it."  
  
Blaine smiled at his brother. "Of course I will." He walked away from Kurt to give Cooper a hug. "I know I’ve said it before, but congratulations Cooper. I know the movie is going to be a hit."  
  
Cooper messed with Blaine's hair and grinned. "Don't worry, Squirt, I'll remember to mention you in my Oscar acceptance speech."  
  
Kurt watched them happily, as Blaine seemed to relax and roll his eyes at his brother. "You better."  
  
Then with one more kiss to Blaine's cheek, he and Cooper were out the door. Blaine would have gone with them to the airport, but he had classes on Friday afternoon he needed to get too.  
  
The movie premiere they were going to was a big deal; plus, Cooper had done a smaller indie film between filming and post-production of the blockbuster, so from that film and the buzz around his big premiere, people were already starting to recognize him. This meant that he and Kurt had to really sell the fact that they were Lifemates. Cooper said it was a plus because all they had to do was get spotted together here and there and people would know about it. Kurt was worried, though, that being under such scrutiny would end up being a bad thing for their secret.  
  
When they got off the plane at LAX, several reporters were waiting to snap pictures of them. Cooper reached down and took Kurt's hand, and Kurt kept his head down as the paparazzi flashed their cameras and Cooper gave them an award-winning smile.  
  
They got to the hotel and Kurt was already exhausted, this was going to be a long weekend. Kurt flopped back on the big comfy bed. "Ugh. It's just going to get worse from here on out isn't it? People taking your picture all the time, stopping you on the street."  
  
"One can only hope!" Cooper said excitedly laying down next to Kurt. "I mean you want to be a Broadway star right? So get use to it."  
  
"You're right." Kurt nodded and then he sat up a little leaning on his elbows. "Wait, Cooper why is there only one bed in this room?"  
  
Cooper rolled his eyes. "Because my agent had it booked. What am I supposed to say, 'Hey make sure to get Kurt and I separate beds because we're only pretending to be together."  
  
Kurt sighed, "Right sorry. Of course."  
  
Cooper hopped up. "Okay, we have dinner and drinks with a few people from the movie this evening and the premiere tomorrow and then just some time out and about in The City of Angels on Sunday being all lovey-dovey and proving to the Lifemate Registry that they did right when they paired us.”  
  
"Of course none of the out and about has to do with you wanting to be mugged for autographs."  
  
Cooper gasped and placed a hand over his heart. "Never." He then winked and grabbed his hanging luggage, heading off to the bathroom to shower and change. It had taken a stern talking-to from Kurt to get Cooper to stop changing in front of him. It wasn't a sexual thing for Cooper; he was just very open with his body, but given their history and Kurt's relationship with Blaine, he didn't think it was appropriate.  
  
"Hey Kurt!" Cooper called from the bathroom. "Bring me a pair of underwear I forgot to grab a new pair from my bag."  
  
Kurt groaned. This  _was_  going to be a long weekend.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Blaine had school that afternoon so he didn't have much time to think about his brother's big weekend in Hollywood. He had set his phone to pick up alerts using Cooper's name though, so when he got home that evening his phone pinged with online mentions of Cooper Anderson. Blaine pulled up the first article, some pictures posted on E! Online.  
  
_Up and coming movie heartthrob spotted at the LAX airport with his Lifemate of over a year, Kurt Hummel.  
  
_ The article went on to talk about the movie premiere and Cooper's indie film that released over the holidays. Blaine looked at the picture for a long time, Cooper smiling confidently at the camera and Kurt wearing a pair of dark sunglasses as he looked at the ground. Their hands were clasped together. Blaine sighed. It wasn't that he didn't trust them; Blaine understood that nothing was going on between them, it just hurt a little that Cooper could be seen out hand in hand with Kurt while Blaine had to hide his feelings.  
  
He exited out of the article, heated up some leftovers and started on his homework. It didn't do any good to dwell on things he couldn't change.  
  
As promised, the next evening Blaine plopped down on the living room couch with a bowl of popcorn and turned on the TV, flipping through the entertainment channels, looking for something about the movie premiere. He stopped when he heard one of the reporters mention the name of Cooper's movie. And then there he was, Cooper standing on the red carpet with a dazzling smile and charming the reporter interviewing him.  
  
Blaine smiled, he was so proud of his brother.  
  
"And who have you brought with you this evening?" The reporter asked as she batted her eyes at Cooper.  
  
Cooper looked behind his shoulder and smiled like he was looking at someone just out of the camera's line of view. "My Lifemate, Kurt, of course." He turned back to the interviewer. "I couldn't be happier to have the love of my life here on one of the biggest days of my career."  
  
Blaine's heart clenched a little. Cooper looked so sincere when he said those words. He knew it was just an act, so why did it hurt so much to hear? After that, the interview wrapped up and the program cut to a scene from earlier in the evening when Cooper and Kurt had first arrived.  
  
Kurt looked stunning in a finely tailored tuxedo of dark navy; it may have been Cooper's evening, but Kurt wasn't about to give up the chance to wear something incredible.  
  
"And proving that the Lifemate Lottery hit another jackpot, Cooper Anderson arrives with his gorgeous husband Kurt Anderson-Hummel." The reporter chirped, the image stayed on Cooper and Kurt as they held hands and posed for the cameras. Then Cooper tugged Kurt forward until they were standing chest to chest and Cooper started to kiss him.  
  
Blaine was up on his feet in an instant. Cooper kept kissing Kurt, long and passionately, practically dipping him right there on the red carpet. When they broke apart, Cooper was ginning and Kurt was flushed red up to his ears.  
  
"Great to see a young couple so in love." The reporter said, but Blaine couldn't take anymore; he grabbed the remote control and flipped the TV off.  
  
He stood in the middle of the silent room for a moment catching his breath before he slowly sank back down to the couch. It was just an act.  _It was just an act._ Blaine covered his face with his hands, picturing Kurt's face stunned and blushing. God, Blaine wanted to be the only one that made him look like that _. It's just an act, they're both actors.  
  
_ He rubbed his hands down his face and then leaned back on the couch. It didn't help that Blaine had plenty of other memories of the two of them kissing when they were still trying in vain to make things work between them. Then, unbidden, the memory of Kurt swearing and crying out behind the closed door of his and Cooper's old shared room filled Blaine's mind. Yeah, it also didn't help that the man he was in love with had to pretend to be in love with his incredibly charming brother  _who_  he’d had sex with before.  
  
Blaine let out a long breath. He was being ridiculous; he knew how Kurt felt about him, how they felt about each other. He didn't have to let the world know. He didn't have to make a big production of their love because what they had was special and strong, and Blaine just needed to get over his petty jealousy of Cooper.  
  
He glanced at his phone on the lamp stand nearby. He wanted to text or call Kurt, but he'd be in the theater by now. Blaine really just needed to let it go.

______________________________________________________________________________

Kurt smiled for the cameras and held Cooper's hand, going through the evening like planned. The movie was actually really good, a big action packed hit that Kurt wouldn't usually be drawn to, and even though Cooper wasn't the lead, he did a great job with his role. While Kurt ended up mostly enjoying the evening, he still had a bone to pick with Cooper as soon as they were alone.  
  
The limo ride back to the hotel was busy, Cooper's manager and agent were there talking about the premiere and prepping him for some interview he had tomorrow. It was like Kurt wasn't even there, which was fine because Kurt wasn't in the mood for all of this right now.  
  
Once they got up to their room and it was just the two of them, Kurt spun on his heels to face Cooper.  
  
"What the  _hell_  Cooper!"  
  
Cooper looked at him confused. "What?"  
  
"That kiss, was it really necessary?"  
  
Cooper continued to look perplexed for a moment before he broke into a smile. "Oh come on, Kurt. We're supposed to still be in the honeymoon stage. That kiss was golden, the press ate it up."  
  
"Cooper you can't just kiss me like that.  _We aren't together."_  
  
"I... I know..." Cooper said, honestly surprised that Kurt was upset. "It wasn't for real."  
  
Kurt just rolled his eyes, sitting down on the bed, and took out his phone. "You might not have meant anything by it, but it was still a kiss, and..." He looked back up at Cooper. "What if Blaine was watching?"  
  
"He knows it's an act."  
  
"Cooper, you just don't get it do you? How do you think it makes him feel to see us do things in public that Blaine and I can't? I mean, we can't even hold hands anymore now that there is a chance that someone might recognize me as Cooper Anderson's Lifemate."  
  
Cooper sat down next to him. "Oh." He glanced over at Kurt's phone. "Did Blaine call?"  
  
Kurt shook his head, "No."  
  
"I'm sorry, Kurt; sometimes I get what I think is a good idea, and I just go for it. I didn't mean to make you or Blaine upset. I didn't think. And it's not like I can just stop being famous."  
  
"Of course not, that's not what I'm saying." Kurt sighed. "I'm going to call Blaine."  
  
Cooper got up from the bed and nodded towards the bathroom, "I'm going to shower, give you a minute."  
  
Kurt smiled as a thank you, his phone to his ear and already ringing.  
  
"Hello." Blaine's voice chimed from the other end.  
  
Kurt sighed at hearing his voice, "I miss you."  
  
There was a pause and then Blaine laughed. "We saw each other yesterday morning."  
  
"I still miss you. I wish you were here"  
  
"I miss you too."  
  
"Did you... did you see any red carpet coverage this evening?"  
  
"I saw Cooper lay one on you if that's what you're asking."  
  
Kurt bit his lip trying to read how Blaine was feeling form his voice.  
  
"Young women all across America, and many of the men, want to know, Kurt," Blaine said, his voice taking on a newscaster type of quality, "is Cooper Anderson a good kisser?"  
  
Kurt smiled. "Shut up."  
  
"On a scale of 1 to 10?"  
  
"You are an 11 and he doesn't even count," Kurt said with a smile. "I feel dumb saying this, but you know all of that is just an act, right?"  
  
Blaine sighed on the other end. "I have to remind myself, but yes, I know. I guess it bothers me because of the history you two have…"  
  
Kurt's heart felt heavy. "Blaine, I thought we'd talked about that. Anything that happened between Cooper and I didn't mean anything, I never had the kind of feelings for him I had for you from the very start."  
  
"Kurt, it's okay, I get it. I just have to deal with some of my own insecurities sometimes. It isn't your problem."  
  
Kurt rubbed his head; he could tell by Blaine's tone that he didn't want to talk about this anymore, and Kurt didn't want to drag it through the mud either. He just wish he knew what to do to help. "I wish I could walk hand in hand down the street with the person that I love," Kurt said softly.  
  
Blaine was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice sounded lighter. "I love you Kurt and I know you love me. As long as we have each other, that's enough."  
  
Kurt smiled and bit his lip, his heart fluttering. It really didn't matter what the world saw; he was Blaine's and Blaine was his.


	21. Part Two: III

Blaine curled closer to Kurt as the sun drifted through the window of their bedroom. It was Sunday morning and neither of them had school and they had gotten their assignments done the day before so that meant they could sleep in and just be lazy this morning.  
  
Blaine ran the back of his hand lightly against Kurt’s cheek and down his neck and then gave him a soft kiss to the temple. He was so stunning when he was asleep. Blaine smiled; actually, Kurt was always stunning, but right now his cheeks were rosy from the warmth of the comforter and his lips parted letting out little puffs of air. Blaine just watched him for a long moment, his fingers barely touching Kurt’s skin as he trailed them up and down his arm.  
  
It’d been a week since Cooper’s big movie premiere and things had been hectic to say the least. Even though Cooper wasn’t the lead, the media was calling him a “breakout star,” and he could hardly go anywhere without people recognizing him. This meant that people recognized Kurt as well.  
  
They had been out for dinner one evening, just the two of them hands brushing against each other as they walked close. Nearly holding hands, but not quite, when a young woman spotted them and her eyes nearly fell out of her head.  
  
“Oh my god! You’re him! Your Cooper Anderson’s Lifemate!”  
  
They immediately took a little step away from each other as the woman squealed and ranted about how gorgeous Cooper was and how they were perfect together and how lucky Kurt must be. Kurt was polite and friendly until they were finally able to walk away. Blaine stuck his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to reach for Kurt’s.  
  
Oddly though, Blaine was okay. He expected it to be harder than it was. Ever since Kurt got home from L.A., Blaine could tell he’d been putting extra effort into letting Blaine know how much he loved him.  
  
They couldn’t hold hands in public, but Kurt sat as close as he could on the couch by him when they studied. They couldn’t give each other light kisses and flirty smiles while people were around, but Kurt would rush from NYADA and meet Blaine half way to have lunch with him as many days as he could. And maybe they couldn’t tell each other “I love you” when others could hear, but Kurt would wake him up with kisses and a smile he reserved only for Blaine.  
  
Blaine was content. He was slowly getting over his insecurities about Kurt and Cooper. If letting the world think Kurt was happily married to Cooper meant that Blaine and Kurt got to stay together it was worth it all.  
  
Blaine loved Kurt so much it was like it flowed through him. It was like it was a part of him. He leaned over and kissed Kurt’s cheek to wake him, and then he continued kissing his chin, down to his neck, and he saw Kurt’s lips tip up in a smile.  
  
“You’re awake.” Blaine whispered.  
  
“No, I’m not.” Kurt said, not opening his eyes.  
  
Blaine smiled and then kissed Kurt’s lips. Kurt kissed him back but kept his eyes closed. “Hmmm, kissing the sleeping prince doesn’t wake him,” Blaine teased.  
  
“I think you have to bring the sleeping prince some breakfast in bed in this fairytale,” Kurt said, still stubbornly keeping his eyes closed.  
  
Blaine laughed and ran a thumb down Kurt’s face. “I can do that.”  
  
Blaine sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, stretching and yawning and looking around for his pajama bottoms that Kurt had frantically taken off of him sometime last night. He caught a glimpse of Kurt in the mirror by the bed, his eyes were open and very obviously scanning Blaine’s naked backside.  
  
“Cheater,” Blaine said and stood, pulling on his pajama bottoms that seemed to have been flung a few feet from the bed.  
  
“I wasn’t cheating,” Kurt said, snuggling into the comforter and closing his eyes again.  
  
“Blaine! Kurt!” Cooper’s voice rang through the apartment as they heard the front door slam closed.  
  
“That’s it, I’m confiscating his key.” Kurt groaned, hiding completely under the sheets.  
  
Cooper burst into the room, his eyes shut tight. “If you two are doing it, stop, we have an emergency!”  
  
“Cooper we aren’t doing anything.” Blaine said, annoyed. “You can open your eyes.”  
  
Cooper’s idea of an emergency could be anything from a bad review to not having sugar for his coffee that morning. He really did need to learn boundaries and how to knock.  
  
Cooper opened his eyes. “Oh good you’re up.”  
  
Kurt poked his head out from under the covers, his hair adorably sticking up in tuffs. “We aren’t exactly up, Cooper. I have a good thing going here and you’re messing with it.”  
  
Cooper looked back and forth between them seriously, his face a little pale, and Blaine realized that they might actually have a real emergency here.  
  
“Cooper, what’s wrong?”  
  
“My manager just called; she thought I’d like to know that an official from the Lifemate Registry is coming over today for a surprise inspection.”  
  
That got their attention. Kurt sat up in bed, holding the covers over his chest. “What do you mean a surprise inspection?”  
  
“Marie has some contacts in the Lifemate office. I don’t know if she is on to us or just thinks I should have a heads up because I’m not great with impromptu interviews, but they are sending someone today to see how Kurt and I are doing as a couple.” Cooper pointed frantically back and forth between himself and Kurt.  
  
Cooper’s words sunk in, and Blaine started to panic, his heart in his throat. “Shit. Oh shit,” he said, spinning around the room and taking in how very Kurt and Blaine it was: his clothes in the closet, a picture of the two of them by the bed, god, his homework was spread across the coffee table in the living room. Why hadn’t they planned for this? What was wrong with them? They had felt so safe, too safe.  
  
Kurt was out of bed in a flash, the comforter wrapped around his waist. “Cooper, go grab a bunch of your stuff, clothes, nick-knacks, books, I don’t know just stuff. Oh, the lactose-free milk in your fridge! Get that.”  
  
Cooper nodded and ran from the room.  
  
“Blaine you have to get your stuff out. Move it to your apartment downstairs. We can do this. I live with Cooper, his younger brother lives downstairs. We are going to be fine.”  
  
Even through his panic, Blaine smiled a little. Kurt was good under pressure. Blaine started piling some of his things from the closet to the bed; he’d just grab some big trash bags to transport it all downstairs. He reached for the picture of the two of them taken on his last birthday from the lamp stand; he’d hide this somewhere downstairs.    
  
Blaine didn’t let himself stop and think about why the Lifemate Registry wanted to talk to his brother and Kurt; he just rushed back and forth between his apartment and Cooper’s, making it look like he lived downstairs just as their leases said. They were careful to check the halls and make sure their neighbors didn’t see them moving stuff around. Luckily, it was Sunday morning and most people were still in bed or already out for the day.  
  
Once they had done a good job of eradicating Blaine from the upstairs apartment, they all took a moment to breathe. They stood in the living room and Blaine spun around to make sure they didn’t miss anything.  
  
“I mean it isn’t the end of the world if they find something of Blaine’s up here.” Cooper said. “He’s my brother, he lives downstairs, and he visits a lot, right?”  
  
“Right,” Kurt said nodding, and Blaine looked over at him to see that his hands were shaking a little and his face was pale. He walked up to Kurt and cupped the back of his neck, kissing him firmly. “It’s going to be fine,” he said, pulling back and looking Kurt in the eye.  
  
This was risky for all of them. If they were found out, it could even mean prison time. But the worst of it was on Kurt’s shoulders, a thought that made Blaine’s stomach squirm. Cooper would get charged with neglecting his Lifemate and opposing the Registry. Blaine would be charged with adultery for having a relationship with a paired person. But Kurt would be charged with neglect, opposition and adultery. And anything else the Registry thought they could throw at the three of them.  
  
Blaine closed his eyes and leaned his head against Kurt’s, “you can do this,” he said. “You’ll be fine.”    
  
Kurt’s lips were in a tight nervous line as he nodded. “I just don’t want to lose you,” Kurt said and Blaine wanted to cry. How Kurt could be concerned about them when his future was on the line? Blaine wanted to kick himself, he felt so guilty for putting Kurt in this position.  
  
“Marie didn’t know when they’d be coming today, but you should probably be downstairs when they get here.” Cooper said kindly, like he knew how afraid Blaine was to leave Kurt.  
  
Blaine closed his eyes and stayed close to Kurt for a moment longer before he took a deep breath and a step back. “Right. Right.” He rubbed the back of his neck; he’d be stuck downstairs in Cooper’s apartment not knowing how the interview was going up here.  
  
“Keep me posted?”  
  
“Of course,” Kurt said and swooped in for a quick kiss. Blaine had to make himself let Kurt go. He really shouldn’t be here when the officials from the Registry arrived.  
  
“You two… just be convincing.” Blaine said and thought about them on the red carpet together a week ago, they could do this.  
  
“Hey,” Cooper said with a smile. “It’s us, we’re going to be amazing.”  
  
Blaine smiled tightly and glanced at Kurt one more time; he seemed like he was trying to smile too. Then he turned and walked out the door and headed down to “his” apartment. This had to go smoothly.


	22. Part Two: IV

Kurt watched Blaine leave the apartment and held back his desire to shout, "I love you!" as he left. Saying I love you at a time like this seemed too much like saying goodbye and this wasn't goodbye.  
  
Lifemate inspections were rare but not unheard of, just because they were coming didn't mean they suspected anything. Maybe it was because of Cooper's new found fame, maybe they just wanted to get credit for pairing him so well.  
  
Kurt rubbed his hands up and down his legs nervously. He knew it most likely meant prison if they found out he and Blaine were together. Kurt had always known that he and Blaine couldn't last, but it couldn't end now, not like that.  
  
"Hey." Cooper said putting his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "We've got this." He smiled. "Do you think we'd be over-selling it if I went and slipped on some PJs? You are in yours and it could look like we just woke up if they get here soon."  
  
Kurt looked down at the pajama bottoms and t-shirt he'd thrown on. "Um, actually I don't just sit around in my PJs much and we should keep as close to the truth as we can. I think I'll go shower and get ready for the day."  
  
"Okay, good idea. So when they ask us stuff tell as much of the truth as possible."  
  
Kurt nodded and glanced towards the door Blaine had gone through.  
  
"I'll make breakfast while you shower?" Cooper said. "I'm not much of a cook but you know I scramble some mean eggs."  
  
Kurt smiled knowing Cooper was doing his best to keep things light. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks."  
  
He took a shower and then got out to moisturize his face and do his hair. He opened the bathroom cabinet and found Blaine's gel for curly hair. He held it in his hands, his heart thudding, would they looked around? Where they going to inspect the apartment? What else of Blaine's had they left behind? He got dressed and wondered if he had time to run the hair gel downstairs, he glanced at the clock it was almost 10:00am. He just stashed in the back of the bathroom closet.  
  
Kurt went to the kitchen where Cooper had made eggs and toast and coffee. Cooper could get around the kitchen alright when he wanted to.  
  
He made himself a plate of food and sat down to eat, but for as hungry as he'd been when he first woke up he couldn't manage much now. His mouth and throat were dry and his stomach churning. This could all go so wrong. Cooper didn't seem to have much of an appetite either and they both just pushed around the food on their plates.  
  
There was a knock on the door and Kurt started, almost jumping out of his seat. Cooper slid his hand across the table and covered Kurt's. "Hey. It is going to be fine. You think I'd let anything happen to you or my kid brother? Just breathe."  
  
It was as serious as Kurt had ever seen Cooper. "Okay." He nodded making himself calm down, he got up from the chair to answer the door.  
  
A tall woman with obviously dyed red hair stood on the other side with a middle-aged man with round glasses. "Hello?" Kurt said counting his breathes in his head.  
  
The woman smiled pleasantly, "Hello. I am Hilda Miller and this is my associate Mr. Browne we are from the Lifemate Registry." They both took out there badges for Kurt to see. "We're hoping to have a word with you and your husband. Is he home?"  
  
Kurt took a step back and put a smile on his face. "Of course, come in. I'll get Cooper."  
  
* * *  
  
Blaine paced Cooper's living room not able to sit down, his nerves a jumbled mess. The officials might not arrive for hours; this was going to be a long day. Then his phone pinged and he looked to see a message from Kurt.  
  
"Sorry Coop and I might have to cancel our plans with you for today. Some people from the Lifemate Registry are here."  
  
Blaine smiled a little. Kurt was being careful, even in his text messages, but still letting Blaine know what was going on. That was good. He sat down on the couch and texted back.  
  
"Let me know if you need anything."  
  
And then he waited.

* * *

Cooper was amazing, charming and easy-going. The officials started poking around the apartment so he immediately offered them coffee and a tour, Kurt's worry started to ease. This was going to be fine. After they'd been show around Hilda smiled and asked if she could speak to Kurt alone in the kitchen, he nodded as Mr. Browne stayed with Cooper in the living room. Kurt's heart started thudding again but he didn't think his nervousness showed too much, he was a performer after all.  
  
They sat down and Hilda started asking him all kinds of questions taking notes the whole time. It didn't take long for her forced pleasantness to start to get on Kurt's nerves. But he just smiled back and answered her questions.  
  
How did Cooper and he get along when they first got married?  
  
Would he say they were well matched?  
  
What was the best part of being married?  
  
What had been the hardest part of being paired?  
  
Which side of the bed did Cooper sleep on?  
  
How did he take his coffee?  
  
And a number of other questions.  
  
As they continued it got easier and easier to answer. Kurt stuck with the truth as much as possible, knowing Cooper would too. He told Hilda what she wanted to know, it was hard when they were first paired because Cooper didn't want a Lifemate, but things slowly got better. He loved that both of them had similar interest and life goals, it was difficult to have Cooper gone so often. Cooper slept on the left side of the bed. He took his coffee black with a lot of sugar.  
  
This might actually work.  
  
"And… excuse me for asking." Hilda said with a tilt of her head and a smile. "But between the two of you who tops and who bottoms?" Hilda looked at Kurt expectantly, as if it was a completely appropriate question.  
  
"I… I…" Kurt's cheeks flushed. It was okay that he was blushing because he'd be embarrassed if someone asked that about him and Blaine as well. "I don't think that's any of your business." Kurt answered.  
  
Hilda raised her eyebrows. "Alright, then would you say you have a sexually satisfying relationship?"  
  
Kurt stared at he a moment before answering. "Um, yes. Yes I would." How was Cooper doing with these questions? The thought made Kurt want to groan.  
  
"And how long have you and Cooper been together, sexually."  
  
Kurt cleared his throat. Could he refuse to answer these questions? Would that look too suspicious? Kurt thought back to the one and only time he'd been with Cooper that way. "It took a few months for us to get there." He answered honestly.  
  
"And have you been with anyone else besides your Lifemate since you were paired?"  
  
"No. Of course not." An easy lie.  
  
"Very good." Hilda said scribbling in her notebook. "And what about Blaine?"  
  
Kurt blinked at her his stomach tying in knots. "What about Blaine?"  
  
"Is it difficult to live so close to your Lifemate's brother? Does he interfere in your relationship?"  
  
"No!" Kurt said and hoped he hadn't been too fervent in his answer. "I mean… Blaine is Cooper's only family that he is close to, having him nearby makes Cooper happy so it makes me happy as well. We… we're friends."  
  
"Mmmm." She responded and spent a long time writing something he her notepad. Damn notepad.  
  
"We spoke to a few of your neighbors earlier in the week." Hilda said tapping her pen on the tabletop.  
  
Kurt's hoped his face didn't show his surprise, that wasn't a good thing.  
  
"It seems that Blaine spends a lot of time up here in your apartment?"  
  
"He lives downstairs." Kurt said. "As I'm sure you know. But yes, he spends a lot of time with Cooper and me. He's family."  
  
"I gather that he spends a lot of time here when Cooper is gone as well."  
  
"He's family." Kurt repeated his hands becoming clammy; he rubbed them against his jeans under the table.  
  
"I see. Wouldn't it have made more sense to move to California if your husband's job keeps him away so long? I must admit it looks a little odd to live here in New York, like maybe… it's because of Blaine?"  
  
Kurt clenched his jaw as his anger grew, that was okay, he could use that irritation. What if he was happily married to Cooper and she was insinuating things that were true, how would he act?  
  
"We are in New York so I can go to NYADA, I was accepted before I was ever paired with Cooper, and because Cooper cares about me we moved here." Kurt said brusquely. "Blaine happens to go to NYU so it had the added bonus of letting Cooper be near the little brother he helped raise. I am sorry if you think there is anything wrong with that."  
  
Kurt's cheeks were flushed. How dare these people come in and try to ruin the life they'd built? How was it fair that they had so much control over how other people lived their lives? They weren't doing anything bad, they weren't hurting anyone; all he'd ever done wrong was fall for Blaine. And that wasn't wrong, being with Blaine was so so right.  
  
"I'm sorry Mr. Anderson-Hummel. I'm just asking questions." She said and Kurt tried to relax. "I think that's all I need for now." She stood to leave. They walked back to the living room and Mr. Browne stood up, he hadn't smiled at all that Kurt had seen, and shook Cooper's hand.  
  
Cooper and Kurt walked them to the door when Hilda Miller stopped. "Oh! One last question Kurt. Have you heard from a…" She glanced down at her notepad, "A Santana Lopez-Howell recently?"  
  
Kurt was caught off guard with the question, what did Santana have to do with anything?  
  
"I saw her at my brother's memorial service over the summer. I didn't get a chance to speak with her much. Besides that I hadn't seen Santana since High School." He answered truthfully.  
  
"I did you know she considers herself a lesbian?" Hilda asked.  
  
Kurt looked at Cooper whose face still looked affable, but a little tight around the eyes and lips and then he turned back to Hilda. Kurt didn't like the way she said, "considers herself" as if Santana might be wrong about her own sexuality.  
  
"She came out when she was 13 or 14." Kurt answered. "We all knew."  
  
"Very well." Hilda replied with another fake smile as they left the apartment. Kurt shut the door and leaned his head against it.  
  
"I think that went well. I did fantastic!" Cooper said from behind him and Kurt smiled a little. He hoped Cooper was right. He texted Blaine that they had left and sat down to compare answers with Cooper.

* * *

Blaine's stomach was feeling a little queasy with worry. The people from the Lifemate Registry had been upstairs for a long time, was that good thing or a bad thing? He hunched over on the couch his arms wrapped abound himself when his phone buzzed and someone knocked on the door at almost the same time. He picked up his phone.  
  
"They left." Kurt had texted. Maybe that was Kurt at the door, but why would he knock?  
  
Blaine answered the door and was met by two strangers; they introduced themselves as Hilda and Mr. Browne and held up Registry badges, Blaine let them in wordlessly. This wasn't expected.  
  
"Blaine Anderson, we've just been talking to your brother and his Lifemate and were hoping we could take a look around your apartment?"  
  
"Um, yeah. Sure." Blaine said nervously. "I could show you around."  
  
"That won't be necessary." Hilda answered as she and her silent friend started poking around, opening cupboards and looking in closets, going through the dirty clothes hamper.  
  
"I'm sorry." Blaine said clenching his fist. "Is there something you're looking for? A reason you're going through my private things?"  
  
Hilda smiled. "Tell me about your brother and Kurt?" She ignored his question. "Would you say they are happy together?"  
  
Blaine glanced over at Mr. Browne who was opening the bathroom cabinet.  
  
"I… yes. They are happy together."  
  
"Mmm, and was it love at first sight would you say?"  
  
"I'm sorry, but why are you asking? What is this about?"  
  
"Oh just some routine questions, we like to check up on our couples."  
  
"I haven't really heard of that before." Blaine said.  
  
Hilda's smile cracked a little. "It's better if you just cooperate."  
  
Blaine let out a breath. "No, I don't think it was love at first sight. Attraction maybe…" Blaine said deciding to tell the truth on this point. "I think they had to work on it a little first."  
  
Hilda wrote something down on her pad. "I see. And do you think they are a good match?"  
  
"I do." Blaine said putting his hands in his pockets and keeping an eye on Mr. Browne as he continued to poke around.  
  
"Are you in love with you brother-in-law?"  
  
Blaine's head snapped from Mr. Browne back to Hilda. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Are you in love with Kurt Anderson-Hummel?" Hilda repeated calmly her smile gone.  
  
Blaine's heart all but stopped beating. "I... No. No I'm not. Why would you ask that?"  
  
"How would you describe your relationship with Kurt?"  
  
"We're friends." Blaine answered immediately; he liked this woman less and less every moment.  
  
Hilda nodded and smiled again. He really didn't like her smile either. "And are you looking forward to getting your own Lifemate someday?"  
  
"Of course." Blaine said easily, remembering how he used to feel about getting a Lifemate, before he met Kurt. "I'm in New York and working towards my dream and part of that would be having a Lifemate one day."  
  
Hilda snapped her notebook closed as Mr. Browne joined them again. "Well very good. Thank you for your time." She said and Blaine walked them back to the door, they left without another word.  
  
Blaine stood in the empty apartment for a moment feeling sick. This wasn't right, something was going on. They were going to take him from Kurt, he could feel it. He had to do something.  
  
He looked at his phone and the text from Kurt. And then scrolled through his contacts until he found the number for Sebastian Smythe


	23. Part Two: V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued thanks to Oleanna for proof reading for me! She is lovely and kind.

Things had been a little tense since the inspection to say the least. Blaine had gone back upstairs to find a worried Kurt and an overly pleased Cooper.  
  
"We did good, Squirt," Copper informed him with a hand on his shoulder. "We were just comparing notes since they split the two of us up, and we answered their questions the same way. Though I didn't know how Kurt took his coffee, but I'm just no good with that kind of stuff."  
  
"Non-fat mocha," Blaine said and joined Kurt where he was sitting hunched over on the couch.  
  
"They didn't find anything incriminating around the apartment," Kurt said and started to relax as Blaine rubbed a hand up and down his back.  
  
“They came and talked to me.”   
  
Kurt’s head snapped towards Blaine. “They… did?”  
  
Blaine nodded and took a breath. "She asked me flat out if I was in love with you, Kurt."  
  
Kurt blinked at him for a moment and then slumped down further on the couch looking a little ill. "They know," he said, his voice uneven.  
  
"No." Blaine shook his head. "They suspect; we just… we can't give them any proof."  
  
Cooper ran his hands down his face. "Should I move up here for a little while do you think?" He asked looking back and forth between Kurt and Blaine.  
  
Kurt was silent and Blaine answered for both of them. "Probably."  
  
Kurt looked up at Blaine, "Wait, does that mean you are going to live downstairs?"  
  
"Just until this blows over."  
  
"Blaine."  
  
"Kurt. We don't know if they're keeping an eye on us right now."  
  
" _Blaine_." Kurt repeated, scooting closer and looking him in the face. "I don't know how much time I have with you… I…” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. “You aren't leaving our apartment."  
  
Blaine's heart sank. "Kurt, if this goes bad it is going to be the worst for you." He slid a hand up Kurt's arm to his neck. "I don't want anything to happen to you." His voice shook a little and he took a deep breath to steady himself. "Playing it safe could mean we get more time together because we'd throw them off our track." He knew this was the best argument to win Kurt over. "Kurt, please."  
  
Kurt's eyes were watery and he leaned forward to place a soft kiss to Blaine's lips before sighing, "Fine. Okay."  
  
"Okay?"  
  
"Yeah, for now."  
  
Blaine nodded and looked up to see that Cooper had left the room at some point to give them some privacy. "I'll just be downstairs. I can still come up for dinner. We can still meet for lunch. I mean, to them, we are friends and brothers-in-law; if we just broke contact altogether, that would be suspicious in itself."  
  
Kurt's jaw tensed a little before he nodded. "Right."  
  
That was that. Blaine moved the rest of his things downstairs and Cooper moved into the upstairs apartment with Kurt. It was far from ideal, but Blaine still spent most evenings with Kurt, even if Cooper was around for more of them than usual. And they still met for lunch, but things felt off.  
  
He didn't even know how long they needed to keep up this charade. Hopefully not too long. Blaine missed waking up next to Kurt, being there when he got home from school, kissing him goodnight in their bed.  
  
Kurt seemed worried and distracted over the next few days and Blaine tried his best not to show his own nerves around Kurt. Blaine had the feeling deep in the pit of his stomach that something was coming. He just needed to  
be ready for it.

* * *

Kurt was a mess. Every day he expected someone from the Lifemate Registry to come and arrest him or Cooper or Blaine or all of them. It was a constant ache in his shoulders and heavy feeling in his stomach. To make it worse, Blaine was living downstairs and though he still saw him every day and Cooper was good about giving them alone time when they were all together upstairs, it wasn't the same. He needed Blaine now more than ever and Blaine felt so far away.

  
To distract himself from it all, Kurt was determined to get in touch with Santana, especially after the Lifemate Registry officials asked about her. Rachel hadn't had any contact with her recently, and even though Quinn had texted him about her a little while ago, she was no help either. Finally, Kurt did get in touch with Brittany, Santana's old girlfriend.  
  
"Kurt!" She said over the phone, excited to hear from him. "My dolphin!"  
  
Kurt smiled and shook his head, remembering how Brittany saw the world just a little differently than everyone else. Brittany chatted for a while, talking about everything from her cat to her new position in a dance crew in New York.  
  
"Wait. You're in New York now Britt?"  
  
"Yes! I am. I like it here, it is so colorful and everyone is so nice and friendly."  
  
Was she really talking about New Yorkers? "Uh yeah…" Kurt said. "Hey, we should get together sometime. What do you think?"  
  
"Oh yes! And bring your beautiful dolphin with you. I saw you together on TV."  
  
"Cooper?"  
  
"Yes. Kurt, he is like a tall ice cream cone."  
  
"Oh… right. He is," Kurt said, deciding that agreeing was easier than questioning her. "I'll bring him, Britt, and his brother if that's okay?"  
  
"Is he a tall ice cream cone too?"  
  
Kurt smiled. "Maybe a short ice cream cone."  
  
"Well that's good too," She said excitedly, and they set a time and place to meet up. Kurt was only a little worried she would forget to show up.  
  
Kurt, Cooper and Blaine ended up meeting Brittany at a tiny little bar that they would have never found if Brittany hadn't told them exactly where it was. She said it was a place where she and a lot of her dancer friends liked to hang out. When they got there, Brittany already had a table for them and was sipping a bright pink drink from a straw.  
  
"Kurt!" She said, jumping up and waving him over. She gave him a big hug and then gave Cooper and Blaine hugs before Kurt even had a chance to introduce them.  
  
They sat down together, and Brittany motioned to a waiter and gave him a big smile as he came and took everyone's orders. "I couldn't remember what time we said so I've just been here since they opened." Brittany said.  
  
"Oh Britt, you should have called."  
  
Brittany chewed on her straw and shrugged. "It’s okay, Lord Tubbington the Second and I needed some time apart. She has been very grumpy recently."  
  
"Um… Who's Lord Tubbington?” Blaine asked, his brows furrowed, and Kurt just sat back and enjoyed other people getting a taste of Brittany.  
  
"Oh, she's my cat. She isn't as grumpy as the original Lord Tubbington, but I think that's because she doesn't smoke."  
  
"I… oh," Blaine said, and looked at Kurt for an explanation. Kurt just smirked and lifted an eyebrow at him.  
  
Cooper smiled widely. "Mmmmm, cats smoking. It's a growing problem in America."  
  
Brittany nodded solemnly. "I know."  
  
They talked about little things for a while, Blaine started warming up to Brittany immediately, but it was Cooper who was the biggest surprise, joking with her and talking to her about odd things that Kurt couldn't keep up with. It was actually a little scary how well they got along.  
  
After a while, Cooper got up to go to the restroom and Blaine offered to go get another round of drinks. Brittany leaned forward, her elbows on the table looking at Kurt seriously. "I thought Cooper was your dolphin," she said quietly.  
  
"He is. I mean, he's my Lifemate."  
  
"Oh," Brittany said and nodded like that cleared things up. "Just because he is your Lifemate doesn't mean he is your dolphin. I think Blaine might be your dolphin, you should think about it."  
  
Kurt was too surprised to reply at first. Were they that obvious or was Brittany just really perceptive?  
  
Blaine got back with their drinks and Brittany leaned back again as if nothing had happened. Once Cooper joined again Kurt decided this was as good of a time as any to bring up Santana.  
  
"Britt, have you kept up with Santana at all?"  
  
"Oh yes," Brittany said. "We used to talk a lot. All the time. I met her Lifemate, Mark. He is nice, but not special like Santana. It made her sad."  
  
Kurt knew that Santana had been unhappy in her match, but it didn't feel good to hear it. "I'm sorry. I wish I would have stayed in touch with Santana better."  
  
"Santana has been sad for a long time and you know when she is sad she gets angry. She didn't let her friends be friends for a while," Brittany said, but then she smiled. "I think she and Mark became friends though. He was always really nice to her and eventually she stopped yelling at him all the time."  
  
"That's good," Kurt said, his stomach twisting in sympathy; at least she’d had Brittany around.  
  
"You said you used to talk to her?" Blaine asked. Kurt had filled him in on the weird question the Lifemate official had asked about Santana and he was as curious as Kurt was. "But not anymore?"  
  
"Nope, not anymore." Brittany said, she didn't seem upset about it at all.  
  
"Did you two fight?" Cooper asked.  
  
She shook her head vehemently. "Oh no. That's not it. It's just I can't talk to her now because she is missing."  
  
Everyone at the table was silent for a minute and Brittany took another sip of her drink. "This tastes like a strawberry shortcake. Not the cake," she said. "You know those little strawberry shortcake dolls? It tastes the way they smelled. It's really good."  
  
"Brittany what do you mean Santana's missing?"  
  
"Oh, she ran away."  
  
Kurt felt a little sick. "What? Why?"  
  
"She didn't want the government to tell her what to do anymore. So she left. She's okay though. They haven't found her because they have some guy following me around. If they found her, they wouldn't think she'd come here would they?"  
  
Kurt shook his head. "Wait, who is following you?"  
  
"Oh some Lifemate Registry government guy. Don't all look at once, but he is over there in the corner. Drinking the scotch and reading a book. They have a few different guys switch off and on. I call that one Harry, because he is mostly bald."  
  
Kurt slowly glanced over, there was a bald guy reading in a corner booth.  
  
"Are you sure he's following you?"  
  
"Yup. It's okay though. It's funny."  
  
"What if Santana does come here?" Blaine asked. "Is that something she'd do?"  
  
Brittany shrugged, completely unconcerned. "I don't know anything about where Santana is or what she might do next." She answered as if reciting a line, and Kurt couldn’t help but think she knew more than she was letting on.  
  
"The Lifemate Registry interviewed us the other day and they asked about Santana."  
  
"See!" She said triumphantly. "They haven't found her."  
  
"Brittany, what Santana is doing is really dangerous," Cooper said.  
  
"You only get one life you know," she replied, setting her glass down and folding her hands on the tabletop. "I think it is more dangerous to live it in a way that makes you unhappy." She glanced at Kurt and then Blaine and smiled. "I need to go," she said, standing. "I have an early rehearsal in the morning and I really need to talk to Lord Tubbington, I hate it when we go to bed mad at each other."  
  
"Right. Okay," Kurt said, standing. "Hey, if you do hear from Santana or need any help… with anything. Let me know?"  
  
Brittany gave him a hug. "Same for you. If you need help. And we should hang out now that we are all in New York."  
  
"I'd like that," Kurt said as they walked out of the bar and went their separate ways. Kurt motioned for Cooper and Blaine to wait as Brittany walked down the street to the subway. A few minutes later, "Harry" left the bar too and went in the same direction. He was following her. _Oh god_ , what had Brittany and Santana gotten themselves into?  
  
Kurt bit his lip and looked at Blaine, wishing they didn't have to go back to their building and then split up. He really needed some time with Blaine.  
  
Cooper grabbed Blaine's elbow suddenly, "Whoa, steady there, Squirt."  
  
Blaine looked up at him in confusion.  
  
"I think you've had a little too much to drink," Cooper told him.  
  
Kurt looked back and forth between them; Blaine was perfectly sober.  
  
"What? Cooper I'm fine."  
  
"You always say that when you're smashed." Cooper looked over to Kurt; what was he doing? "I'm sorry, Kurt, but I think my little brother should probably crash with us tonight. Sleep on the couch, he's wasted."  
  
Kurt smiled a little and then nodded. "He never could hold his liquor."  
  
Once they got back to the apartment, Cooper clapped Blaine on the back. "If someone is watching Brittany we were right in thinking someone might be watching us. I thought you two seemed a little strained lately, though, and could use some time together. I'll sleep on the couch." He left the room to get some pillows from the bedroom.  
  
Kurt smiled almost shyly at Blaine, "I do really miss having you here. It's only been a week, but still."  
  
Blaine closed the space between them and looped his arms around Kurt's waist. "I miss you too. Even though I see you every day."  
  
"I hate pretending we aren't together; at least before we had this apartment, a safe place to be us."  
  
Blaine kissed him lightly on the lips and then pulled away as Cooper came back in carrying a pillow and a blanket from the closet. "I'm going to be watching some TV before I turn in. Watching it _loudly_ , you know, if you want to take advantage of that."  
  
" _Coop_." Blaine groaned.  
  
"Hey! Be grateful, Squirt.  _The things I do for you_ ," he muttered, and made himself a little nest on the couch.  
  
Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and tugged on it, pulling him to their room. He shut the door and his lips were on Blaine's in a moment. He wanted Blaine close right now. With the interview, and the idea of someone tailing them, and the separation they'd had to go through the past week and who knew how much longer, Kurt was feeling a little desperate and needy.  
  
He cupped Blaine's face with both of his hands and kissed him soundly.  
  
"Do you think Santana is alright?" Blaine asked as Kurt kissed down his neck. "I- I'd hate for her and Brittany to get in trouble."  
  
"Blaine," Kurt said, stopping to look him in the eyes. "I don't know what Santana is up to and I do hope she's okay. And I'm sorry if it is selfish, but right now I don't want to worry about Santana and Britt, I just…" He shook his head not knowing what to say.  
  
Blaine seemed to understand, though, placing his hands on Kurt's hips and kissing him as he backed him up towards the bed. They fell down on it together as they started tugging on each other's clothes and pulling things off. Kurt's hands couldn't touch enough of Blaine's skin at one time as Blaine hovered over him kissing him and hanging on to his shoulders.  
  
Kurt fumbled with Blaine's belt and zipper before finally wiggling his pants down and off of him. Blaine smiled as he kissed him. "Eager aren't we?"  
  
Kurt ran his hand down Blaine's smooth skin and pressed his fingers against the little dips in Blaine's lower back and smiled as Blaine groaned. He knew exactly which places to go to to drive Blaine crazy.  
  
"Not fair." Blaine panted out against Kurt's skin and Kurt just chuckled.  
  
Kurt shimmied out of his own pants as well, leaving them both naked and tangled together on their bed.  
  
"I've missed you," Blaine said, as his lips moved from Kurt's jaw to his neck and his hips found a steady rhythm against Kurt's.  
  
Kurt just moaned, his hand gripping the bed covers as his erection rubbed against Blaine's and his skin started to heat up. It didn't take long for their movements to get faster and sloppier. Kurt keeping a hand in the curls at the nape of Blaine's neck, his legs hooked around Blaine. Blaine pressing kisses to Kurt's lips as Kurt got louder and louder, trying to muffle the sound. The bed creaking and sweat helping the slide between them. They panted each other's names as they came down, and Blaine lay on top of him as Kurt lightly ran his lips down Blaine's cheek.  
  
It was quick and sloppy, but so very needed and Kurt felt better than he had since the interview. They fell asleep under the covers, as close to each together as they could be, Cooper snoring on the other side of the door.


	24. Part Two: VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Fell free to leave a comment because I would love to hear from you. :)

Living downstairs, with his brother living upstairs with Kurt, wasn't ideal. Blaine didn't like it, but in the end he was so busy that he didn't have time to think too much about it. His first year at NYU had come to an end. He'd done well in his classes and was on track to be a power player next year in the drama department. He loved school; it was a chance for him to shine in a way that he was robbed of in his last year of high school. Kurt still had a few more weeks of school; NYADA didn't wrap up their academic school year until June.  
  
It worked out alright, Kurt was busy with finals and Blaine had planned something special for his birthday. Blaine had focused on school, and now Kurt's birthday obsessively, because otherwise he'd drive himself crazy worrying about the Lifemate Registry. It had been a month since the interview and nothing had happened. Kurt was constantly hinting to Blaine about moving back up to their apartment, something Blaine was planning as a surprise him for his birthday.  
  
Part of Blaine was thinking they had gotten away with everything, and another part of him was tense, prepared for this to be the calm before the storm – but with everything else going on, what he really wanted was to make Kurt happy and that meant moving back in with him.  
  
Blaine smiled as he ducked into a jewelry store. He could do that; it would make him happy too. The owner of the shop noticed Blaine and stopped what he was doing to wave and smile. The man was in his in early 60s and had owned this shop for 30 years. Blaine had chosen it because of the owner's detailed work.  
  
"Blaine!" Mr. Weber greeted. "I'm so glad you're here. I have your rings ready."  
  
Blaine bounced on his toes a little. "I can't wait to see them."  
  
He stood at the counter as the older man went to the back to get the custom order Blaine had put in a few weeks ago, shortly after the Registry officials came for the interview. Mr. Weber came back and opened two little black velvet boxes. Blaine smiled and picked up the one holding Kurt's ring. It was a delicate white gold ring with two intertwined leafy vines. Blaine took a deep breath as he lightly rubbed his thumb over the vines that represented himself and Kurt.  
  
"It's beautiful," Blaine said, color rising on his cheeks. He hoped Kurt would like it. He put it back down and picked up his own ring. At first, he was just going to get one for Kurt, but then when he pictured Kurt wearing it, he got a bubbly feeling all over and thought that maybe it would be nice for Kurt to see something that represented the two of them on Blaine's hand as well.  
  
He had quickly dismissed the idea of getting matching rings; that was too obvious. Blaine's ring was also white gold, but a little wider and had two branches growing together. They had a similar feel to them without looking like a matching pair. He and Kurt would know, and whenever they saw them on their own hands or on each others, they would know what they meant.  
  
They'd have to wear them on their right hands as Kurt's left hand ring finger already carried the band Cooper had bought for him right before their move to New York. That ring was for everyone else; it told the world that Cooper (who had a ring as well) and Kurt were a good Lifemate match. These rings, though, the ones Blaine had designed, they weren't for anyone else, they were a reminder for just the two of them that they were bound together no matter what the world said.  
  
Blaine hoped he hadn't gone too far, that Kurt would understand the meaning behind wearing them. He looked back up to Mr. Weber and wiped at his eyes a little. "These are perfect."  
  
Blaine made the last payment on the rings and then pocketed them. They were the other part of Kurt's birthday surprise.  
  
Rachel had planned a party for Kurt that evening. She was leaving next week for California and wanted to have a big birthday blow-out for Kurt while they still both lived in New York.  
  
Blaine got back to his apartment, or Cooper's apartment, and got ready for the evening. He put on sand colored slacks, a white shirt with a dark blue skinny tie and a suit jacket in red, yellow and blue plaid. He left his hair mostly curly without it looking too much like a head of broccoli and then made sure the rings were safe in his pocket.  
  
He got upstairs and walked into the apartment without knocking. Cooper was sitting on the couch looking ready to go.  
  
"He's in the bedroom," Cooper said before Blaine even had a chance to ask. "Still getting ready."  
  
Blaine went to the bedroom to find Kurt in front of their full-length mirror looking gorgeous in dark green suit with a crisp white shirt and a brooch of the comedy/tragedy mask on his lapel. He looked up at Blaine in the mirror and smiled. Blaine walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around him leaning in to kiss his neck. "You look amazing."  
  
"Not too dressy?"  
  
"No. You're the guest of honor.”  
  
Kurt sighed. "Yeah, I know."  
  
Blaine chuckled, his nose nuzzling over Kurt's neck. "You are only turning 21. You can't have a crisis over your age yet. And you love parties."  
  
"No, it's not that. I just…" He turned in Blaine's arms to face him. "I feel like I haven’t seen you much lately and I hate that. Honestly, I'd rather just spend the evening here with just you than go out."  
  
Blaine kissed his cheek. "Rachel is moving soon and it is your birthday. We'll go party and then come back here to be alone."  
  
Kurt's lips tipped up in a smile as he nodded and then stood back to look and Blaine. "You look like a 1950s heartthrob."  
  
Blaine straightened his tie seriously. "Of course I do." He winked and grabbed Kurt's hand heading back to the living room.  
"Ready?" Cooper asked and the three of them headed out.

* * *

Rachel had reserved a room in a trendy brewery and had invited all kinds of people. Kurt didn't even know them all. Kurt liked big parties, but wasn't sure he was in the mood for it with everything else going on.  
  
He had called his dad and Carole earlier that day and had a long talk with them, which did make him feel a little better. And he did have Rachel, Cooper, and Brittany at the party and Blaine by his side, so it was turning out to be a good birthday. What he hated was that, even at his own birthday party, he still had to act like he was with Cooper. Rachel knew the truth, of course, and he was pretty sure Brittany had guessed it, but he still had to keep up the show for everyone else.  
  
He thought about it less and less as the night went on though. Dancing with Blaine and Cooper and all of his friends. He was the Birthday Boy: it didn't look weird for him to dance with whomever he wanted. Despite his reservations about going out, he had to admit Rachel had planned a great party.  
  
After dancing and jumping around for several songs, and downing a few drinks, he was warm and had a little buzz and was feeling good. He went to sit at one of the booths in the corner to cool down and catch his breath. Blaine was dancing with Brittany and keeping up with her moves really well; they looked like they were having a great time. Was there nothing that man couldn't do? Kurt smiled and enjoyed the view, loving the fact that Blaine was so happy and carefree right now. The past few weeks had been hard and Blaine had been unusually quiet.  
  
"Oh Kurt!" Rachel said crashing down in the booth next to him. "Aren't you having fun?"  
  
"I am having so much fun, Rachel. Thank you for this."  
  
Rachel smiled and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I wanted this to be the best birthday ever. It has been such a hard year…," she said, shivering a little.  
  
Kurt wrapped his arm around her. He wished Finn were here tonight. "You threw the perfect party for me Rachel."  
  
"I leave next week."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You… you have to promise, Kurt."  
  
"Promise what?"  
  
Rachel got a little teary eyed. "Promise you won't forget me."  
  
Kurt lifted his eyebrows in surprise and then gave Rachel a tight hug. "Never, don't be ridiculous. We'll always be friends."  
  
Rachel sniffed a little and then pulled back to grab a tissue from her purse. "Drinking always either makes me want to sing or cry," she said, dabbing at her eyes.  
  
"Well, you were singing earlier too."  
  
"So were you!"  
  
Kurt smiled. "It isn't a Rachel Berry party if there isn't singing."  
  
Rachel stuffed the tissue back in her purse as she nodded in agreement. "Oh! I have something I wanted to show you," she said and grabbed a piece of paper from her purse. She lay in on the table and smoothed it out with her palm. "Did you see this?"  
  
Kurt looked down at the newspaper clipping; it was a very short write up about some bill in congress that failed before it was even voted on. "No… can't say I have."  
  
"It was buried in the politics section of the New York Times. It's a big deal, though; do you know what this is?"  
  
"I guess I don't."  
  
"It was a bill that, among other things, would have loosened and changed the Lifemate laws. There are some members of Congress who actually want to limit the power of the Lifemate Registry."  
  
Kurt's eyes grew round and he looked back down at the article. There was one line about how anti-registry supporters were disappointed with the bill’s demise.  
  
"How did we not know about this?"  
  
Rachel shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know, I think people want to downplay it. You know how the media likes to pretend that everyone is happy with the Lottery even though it isn't true."  
  
Kurt sighed in disappointment. "The bill didn't even get anywhere."  
  
"I know, but still it is something; if it came up once, it could come up again. People just need to know about it; show the government that there is support for that kind of thing. I don't know I just thought… maybe there is hope for people like you and Blaine." She lowered her voice for that last part even though no one would have been able to hear them over the music even if they tried.  
  
"Thanks, Rachel," Kurt said, truly grateful that his friend was rooting for him and Blaine. "It means a lot to know you have my back."  
  
"It’s more than that; I really think things could change one day."  
  
Kurt smiled. "I hope so." But he was far from convinced.  
  
By the time the party was over, Kurt was exhausted. Blaine hailed a cab and Kurt just wanted to lean against Blaine on the ride home. But the cab driver in the front glancing back through the rearview mirror stopped him. Cooper had left the party early, a surprise to Kurt who knew how much Cooper liked any chance to be in a group of people. He'd probably be asleep on the couch when they got in.  
  
Blaine unlocked their front door and then shut it behind him, flipping on the light. Kurt yawned. "You're staying over tonight, right?" He asked hopefully, not wanting Blaine to go back downstairs.  
  
Blaine smiled. "Of course."  
  
Kurt looked out over the living room. “Where's Cooper?"  
  
"Downstairs," Blaine said easily, and dropped his keys in the bowl by the door.  
  
"He's giving us the night alone?"  
  
Blaine smiled and just tugged on Kurt's lapels leading him to the bedroom. Kurt sat down on the bed and slipped his jacket off. His eyes got caught on something on the lamp stand. It was the picture of him and Blaine that had been gone since the inspection. Kurt furrowed his brows and looked around the room. He saw Blaine's boxing gloves hanging in the corner. He got up and looked in the closet. Blaine’s clothes were hanging next to his own. He turned to stare at Blaine who was slipping on his PJs that he'd gotten from their dresser.  
  
"You moved back in."  
  
Blaine smiled. "Cooper left early to bring my things back up."  
  
Kurt stood still for a moment; he was tired and had a few drinks that evening so his mind was a little slower than normal, but he could feel his heart expand and he rushed to Blaine, wrapping him in his arms. "Thank you! Thank you!" He brought their lips together even as Blaine started to laugh happily.  
  
Blaine held him close, his hands spread out on Kurt's back, and Kurt sighed and pulled out of the kiss.  
  
"Welcome home, Blaine."  
  
"Happy Birthday, Kurt," Blaine whispered.  
  
Kurt got changed and then crawled into bed next to Blaine, _their bed_. He lay down on his side and Blaine did the same thing facing him. The little light on Blaine's nightstand was still on.  
  
"I have something else for you," Blaine said with a smile that almost looked bashful. He reached under his pillow and drew out a little black box and put it in Kurt's hand. Kurt looked at the box and then back at Blaine. "Is this…?"  
  
"Just open it."  
  
Kurt felt a fluttery feeling in his chest as he sat up and opened the box. Blaine followed his lead, sitting up next to him. In the box was the most gorgeous ring Kurt had ever seen, delicate and masculine, it looked like two vines twined together moving and growing around each other.  
  
"Oh Blaine."  
  
"It isn't the ring I wish I could give you," Blaine said, his fingers brushing over the band Kurt wore from Cooper. "But it means the same kind of thing. It is a promise." He reached down and picked up another box. "I have one too," he said, taking the ring out and almost slipping it on his finger.  
  
"No! Wait," Kurt said, stopping his hands and taking the ring from him. These weren't wedding rings, Kurt knew that, but still he felt like he should be the one to put in on Blaine. He held Blaine's hand and slipped the ring on his ring finger of his right hand. It was the same white gold as Kurt's ring, but more branch-like, the two branches growing together.  
  
Kurt gazed at the ring against Blaine's tan skin for a moment, and he felt so light and happy that he could just float away. Blaine took Kurt's ring back and then slipped it in on his finger before bringing Kurt's hand up to place a soft kiss on his knuckles.  
  
"What are you promising?" Kurt asked, voice breathy.  
  
Blaine smiled. "To always love you," he said. "No matter what the world thinks. To always be the one you can lean on. To make you smile and to make you laugh. To tell you when you have on too many accessories."  
  
Kurt's smile grew.  
  
"To always be yours," Blaine whispered, his honey-colored eyes looking at him intently. "No matter where the future takes us," Blaine finished.  
  
Kurt took in a deep shuddering breath. He didn't know if he could love Blaine any more than he did right then. He kept their hands clasped together.  
  
"I promise to always love you, Blaine. Even when you wear too much hair gel."  
  
Blaine laughed.  
  
"I promise to support you no matter what. To wipe away your tears and to hold you when you sleep. To always be yours…" Kurt had to swallow back some tears. "No matter where the future takes us."  
  
They were quiet for a moment sitting knee to knee on their bed and holding hands; the moment was full and Kurt's heart was soaring and breaking at the same time. Blaine leaned forward and kissed him and Kurt reached for him, pulling him in.  
  
They ended up tangled together, Blaine's head resting on Kurt's chest as Kurt ran his fingers through his curls. Blaine was asleep first snoring softly and making Kurt smile. Kurt's mind wouldn't turn off, though, so he kept carding his fingers through Blaine's hair and picturing a life where they were free to be together.


	25. Part Two: VII

Kurt had officially made it through his first year at NYADA; there had been times when he definitely didn't think he would. NYADA courses were rigorous to say the least and the teachers all demanded that their class be the priority. It was a battle, but Kurt felt like he'd gotten through the school year well.    
  
Of course school stress was just one stress out of many with everything else that had been going on for the past several months. Traveling with Cooper, Cooper's growing fame, the Lifemate Registry breathing down their necks, Blaine moving out and moving back in again. Kurt had to admit he was more than ready for summer.  
  
He and Blaine had originally planned on doing a lot of traveling this summer, but with everything that had happened with the Lifemate Registry investigation, they thought maybe they should play things a little quieter. At least Blaine was back living in their apartment again. Kurt knew it was a risk, but their whole relationship was a risk and if they weren't together, then what was the risk even for?  
  
They didn't know for sure if anyone was watching them like they had been with Brittany, but it seemed like maybe the Registry was satisfied with their interview. Kurt couldn't live like they were always under surveillance; he needed their apartment to be a place where he could just be himself and be with Blaine.  
  
Cooper was back in L.A. for a few weeks, maybe even months, and Kurt knew he was going to have to go spend a couple of weeks out there with him; at least he'd have a chance to see Rachel who had moved already. First though, he and Blaine were going to take one little trip together back to Ohio. He missed his dad like crazy and felt it was important to spend time with him and Carole, especially since they were all still recovering from the loss of Finn.  
  
"Lima is going to be boring for you after the big city," Burt said over the phone.  
  
"It will be slower, that's for sure, but that will be nice. I need a break," Kurt said wearily as he walked home with some groceries.  
  
"You okay bud?" He must have heard the exhaustion in Kurt's voice.  
  
"Just tired. School did a number on me this year. And… everything with the Registry and just…" Kurt sighed. "Everything."  
  
"Do you regret deciding to go for things with Blaine?" Burt asked unexpectedly. "I'm not saying you should; I just wonder sometimes if I pointed you in the wrong direction."  
  
Kurt froze where he stood on the sidewalk. "No. Never." He answered without even having to think about it. "Blaine isn't now and never will be a regret." Blaine made him happy; no one made him laugh as hard or feel as safe or comfortable in his own skin. Where Blaine was, that was his home.  
  
"Good, I'm glad to hear it." And Burt changed the subject as quickly as he had started it. "Carole and I are looking forward to seeing you both next week."  
  
Kurt smiled and continued to his apartment. "I can't wait."  
  
They finished the phone call with firming up their plans for the visit and Kurt walked upstairs to his apartment. Blaine would probably still be out handing in job applications; he had decided that getting a summer job would be a good way to stay busy. Kurt had been offered a job as a singing waiter at a little musical diner he liked to go to, and he thought he might take it. It would be fun and the hours were flexible.  
  
He was just thinking that he was really too tired to want to make dinner even though he'd just gotten everything they'd need for spaghetti and meatballs when he walked in his front door and then stopped. The lights were off but the entryway was lit up with candles. He toed off his shoes and followed the flickering light to the living room.  
  
The couch was scooted back, and so was the coffee table and in the middle of the room, a big blanket was spread on the floor with a basket and rose petals. Kurt blinked and looked up at Blaine who was standing nearby with a smile on his face. He was dressed casually but looked amazing in a pair of nice jeans and a dark green button down shirt that made his eyes pop.  
  
"I…" Kurt looked around the room at all the candles Blaine had lit and back to what appeared to be a picnic laid out and ready. "What is this?" Kurt asked.  
  
Blaine gestured to the room. "Oh this? I was walking home today and it was such a nice day, one of the few cooler days we'll have before the summer heat, and I thought, 'I want to go on a romantic picnic with Kurt.' But since we can't actually go out and do that, I thought I'd bring the romantic picnic here."  
  
Kurt felt a laugh bubble out of him as he stood frozen in place. Blaine walked up to him and took the grocery bags from his hands. "Here, I'll go put these up." Kurt just nodded as Blaine walked away. Then he looked back to the living room, moving to sit down on the blanket Blaine had laid out and peeking in the basket to see what was for dinner.  
  
Blaine came back in and sat down next to him. "Well, what do you think?"  
  
"It's a lot of candles Blaine." That wasn't actually what Kurt wanted to say, but he felt the right words were hard to grasp right now.  
  
Blaine laughed. "You know Rachel told me when you first auditioned for NYADA you almost sang a song from the Phantom of the Opera with a stage full of candles."  
  
"That was to achieve the right effect."  
  
"Mmm." Blaine leaned forward and kissed his lips. "So is this."  
  
"Does the effect you are trying to achieve have anything to do with me wondering where we keep our fire extinguisher? Do we even have a fire extinguisher?"  
  
Blaine scooted closer next to him so that their hips were touching. "Yes, in the kitchen under the sink."  
  
Kurt grabbed Blaine's hands and slotted their fingers together, noticing how perfect their rings looked and taking a deep breath as he looked around at the room. "What I mean to say is – this is _lovely_. Thank you, Blaine." He looked up at Blaine's face, so close and looking at him with deep golden eyes.  
  
Blaine smiled a little. "Are you hungry?"  
  
"God yes! And I didn't want to cook, so this is perfect."  
  
Blaine let go of his hand to open the basket; he pulled out plates and a few tupperware containers, "Oh the champagne! I forgot it, it is still in the kitchen." He hopped up and hurried away as Kurt opened the food, finding cold pasta salad, sandwiches and fruit and cheese. Perfect picnic foods. Blaine was a silly romantic sometimes and Kurt loved it.  
  
Blaine got back and poured them some champagne. The tiredness of the day and the last few months started to melt from his shoulders as Kurt leaned against Blaine and they ate and talked. Blaine had a way of knowing when Kurt needed to unwind and somehow always made him feel secure and loved.  
  
"Do you ever think of what life would have been like if Cooper got a different Lifemate?" Kurt asked, licking strawberry juice off his fingers.  
  
Blaine finished chewing his bite of sandwich. "Not really. I mean sometimes I think… I think about if I had been the one to get your name. But really, either way I have a hard time picturing my life without you."  
  
"I'm the same way," Kurt said. "I know I had a life before we met, I remember it." Kurt smiled and kissed the corner of Blaine's mouth. "But looking back I feel like I was always meant to meet you."  
  
"Like fate?"  
  
"Yes. Like fate. Well, if fate has a wicked sense of humor, letting us meet but having me marry Cooper."  
  
Blaine nodded seriously, "Marie is saying Cooper might be part of People's Sexiest Men issue. You’re a lucky guy Cooper is a catch."  
  
"Oh please." Kurt nudged him playfully.  
  
"What? You love Cooper."  
  
"I do. I adore Cooper. Like a brother. If he and I had to live like we were a couple we'd probably kill each other eventually."  
  
Blaine laughed.  
  
"No, I take it back, I'd kill him."  
  
"He's gotten better lately, not as… I hate to say self-centered, but self-centered."  
  
"Mmm, maybe marriage has been good for him."  
  
It was Blaine's turn to nudge Kurt. "His marriage has been good for me, great way to pick up hot guys."  
  
Kurt threw a grape at him.  
  
Once most of the food was gone, they spread their legs out on the floor, leaning their backs against the couch as Blaine rested his head on Kurt's shoulder.  
  
"I've been thinking about the Lottery," Kurt said during a lull in their conversation.  
  
Blaine lifted his head and looked at him.  
  
"I mean… there's a chance you won't ever get a letter, right? I mean some people don't," Kurt said hopefully. He'd thought about that a lot; it was the best case scenario really.  
  
Blaine shook his head and looked down at his hands. "Let's not. Not tonight." He looked back up and there was something sad in his eyes for a moment. "With everything that has been going on, let's have one night where we don't talk about my Lottery letter or what we should do or if we think the Registry is still watching us. For tonight…" He placed his hands over Kurt's. "For the rest of the night let's pretend that you're my Lifemate and I am yours."  
  
Kurt smiled brightly, his chest feeling full at just the thought of that. He'd give anything to be Blaine's Lifemate. He'd give up NYADA and New York and Broadway. "Yeah, okay," Kurt said. Blaine smiled and poured more champagne.  
  
"My dad is looking forward to seeing us next week," Kurt said. "I can't wait to be back; it's weird considering how much time I spent wanting to get away from Lima."  
  
"Going home for a little while does sound really nice."  
  
"We should stop by your house too. It's just been sitting there empty all this time."  
  
"Yeah, I'd like that." Blaine answered wistfully.  
  
It didn't take long for their conversation to turn to soft kisses, and those kisses to grow into longer ones, until Kurt was on his back on the blanket with Blaine over him. Lips sliding against each other and hands roaming under clothes to feel each other's skin.  
  
"God you taste good," Kurt said, his lips tugging on Blaine's.  
  
Blaine laughed. "Well right now I taste like champagne and pasta salad."  
  
"And strawberries," Kurt added, his hand under Blaine's shirt and his thumb brushing over a nipple.  
  
"Kurt." Blaine moaned and blinked down at Kurt and then to the side, taking in the room. "Damn candles! We need to blow those out before we go any further."  
  
Kurt laughed as Blaine rolled off him. "So much for them creating a mood."  
  
"Hey, they did their job up to this point," Blaine said, getting up and blowing out the candles nearest them. Kurt watched him for a moment, taking in the way he moved and how impossibly cute he was while blowing out all these candles he must have spent forever lighting. Then he got up and helped him; soon, they had them all out, even the ones in the entryway. Kurt didn't waste any time leading Blaine into their room and pushing him playfully down on the bed, crawling up next to him and kissing him again.

* * *

Blaine's heart was pounding in his chest as Kurt made his way over him, hovering so that their bodies almost touched but didn't. Blaine reached up and held on to the back of Kurt's neck, kissing him and easing him down until they were finally touching.

  
Kurt smiled as he kissed him and the sight made Blaine's chest expand. He loved Kurt so much. Soon, Blaine's hands were under Kurt's shirt working it off him, and Kurt paused in his kissing to sit up and help Blaine slip off his shirt and then his pants and then Blaine returned the favor.  
  
"I love you." Blaine moaned as Kurt settled back down on him, warm skin pressed against warm skin as Blaine's hands made their way down Kurt's firm, pale back. His fingers pressed into Kurt's ass and Kurt gasped a little. Blaine's mouth moved down to Kurt's neck, a spot he knew always made Kurt melt.  
  
"Blaine," Kurt murmured, and Blaine couldn't help but smile at the feeling his name on Kurt's lips gave him. Everything this evening had been was so perfect and so was this moment. He kept hold of Kurt with one hand as he scooted over a little to open the drawer of the nightstand; he grabbed some lube and a condom and then scooted back under Kurt as he ripped the condom package open with his teeth.  
  
"What do you want baby?” Blaine asked and Kurt planted another kiss to his lips.  
  
"I want you," he said simply.  
  
Blaine had to hold back his tears. He worked his hands down to Kurt's ass and Kurt shuddered at the touch. Kurt kissed Blaine's neck and then rolled off him and lay on the bed face down. Kurt grabbed a pillow and hugged it under his chin as Blaine turned onto his side and kept one hand running up and down the length of Kurt from thigh to shoulder.  
  
Once Kurt seemed relaxed and comfortable, Blaine opened the lube and squirted some on his fingers, rubbing them together to warm it before reaching down to work Kurt open. Kurt hummed and lifted his hips a little, his movements guiding Blaine’s fingers in stretching him.  
  
Blaine traced Kurt's shoulders with sweet kisses as his fingers worked, Kurt moaning and wriggling under his touch. Blaine moved slowly, drawing every moment out until he had three fingers in Kurt, pumping and moving, and Kurt was writhing on the bed and bucking his hips up.  
  
"B-Blaine. Please," he cried and Blaine felt warm all over, his body responsive to Kurt's cries.  
  
Blaine pulled his fingers out and then rolled on a condom and slicked himself up.  
  
"Baby?" He called and kissed Kurt's neck. Kurt turned his head to the side to look at him and then sat up until they were facing each other. Kurt gently pushed against Blaine's chest until he was lying flat on his back. Kurt then moved so that he was straddled over Blaine and Blaine watched him intently.  
  
His hair was a little messed up, his rosy lips parted with his even breaths, and his eyes were blown so dark you could only see the slightest circle of his blue irises. Kurt reached for Blaine and then started to lower himself down on to him. Blaine's eyes snapped shut for a moment, the feeling of Kurt all around him almost overwhelming. Then, he forced himself to open his eyes. He didn't want to miss a moment of watching Kurt.  
  
Kurt's head was tilted back and his mouth parted as he buried Blaine inside of himself, lowering his ass down until Blaine was snugly inside. Blaine reached for Kurt's hips to steady him as Kurt started to rock his hips, moaning and gasping as one of his hands slowly smoothed over his own chest..  
  
It was the most beautiful and perfect sight Blaine had ever seen. Kurt riding him as he groaned and touched his own heated skin. Blaine's grip on Kurt's hips tightened as he started moving with Kurt, thrusting into him as Kurt rolled on top of him.  
  
They both seemed to want to make it last and Kurt didn't touch his own erection. Eventually, though, they couldn't wait any longer; Kurt's movements became desperate and his cries were mingled with Blaine's own as they moved together. Blaine came first, the heat that had been growing and growing finally tipping him over the edge, and he shouted Kurt's name as he came and pleasure prickled over every inch of his body.  
  
Kurt came shortly after when Blaine reached up and fisted his cock. It only took a couple of strokes and Kurt came over them both, panting and laughing, his face bright and happy. Blaine wished he could freeze this moment and keep it forever.  
  
They got cleaned up sleepily and with a few giggles. Champagne had that effect on both of them. Then, they snuggled back into bed, so close it was hard to tell where Blaine ended and Kurt began. Blaine held Kurt tightly, feeling his heartbeat against his chest, knowing how important this moment was.

* * *

Kurt woke up from a heavy sleep, feeling content and whole. He turned on his side to look at Blaine. He was fast asleep, his eyelashes fanned over his smooth skin and his lips parted a bit as he breathed, making his chest rise and fall. Kurt closed his eyes, his happiness almost unbearable for a moment. He felt jittery and full of energy; he turned his head to see the clock. 4:00am. It was a little early to get up and make coffee, but still he couldn't manage to make himself stay in bed. Maybe he'd warm some milk.

  
He got up and stretched his muscles. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the dresser and slipped them on, not caring if they were his or Blaine's, and padded quietly down the hall. He flipped on the light when he got to the living room, not wanting to stub his toe on anything or trip over a candle. He passed the entryway and saw Blaine's messenger bag hanging on one of the pegs on the wall. He wasn't sure what it was, but something made him stop and take a closer look.  
  
He walked up to the bag, yawning and rubbing his neck, when he froze, body running cold. There – sticking out of the small front pocket of Blaine's bag – was what looked like the bright blue corner of an envelope. Kurt's mouth went dry. No. It couldn't be what it looked like. Blaine would have told him if he'd received his letter  
  
Then, Kurt thought back to their evening together. Roses and candles and dinner and pretending it would last forever, everything so planned and so perfect.  
  
No. It was almost as if… Kurt shuddered. If looked at in the right light, the whole evening almost seemed like… like a goodbye. No. No. Kurt shook his head even as his hand reached out unsteadily to tug on the corner of the blue paper and pull it out.  
  
It was an envelope.  
  
Kurt felt dizzy, his mind swimming as he saw the round embossed seal of the Lifemate Lottery. No. He slowly turned the unopened envelope over, his movements feeling labored and sluggish. It was addressed to Mr. Blaine Anderson.  
  
_No._


	26. Part Two: VIII

Kurt walked back to the bedroom almost in a trance. The letter still in his trembling hands, he could feel panic clawing beneath his skin, but it hadn't surfaced quite yet. When he reached his room, their room, the room he shared with Blaine, he stopped and looked in.  
  
Blaine was slowly sitting up and stretching his arms above his head, the sheet falling down to his lap, and Kurt's eyes scanned over Blaine’s tan, broad chest. Blaine was here and real and his. How could all of that be torn away with a simple letter? Kurt felt like his ribcage had shrunk, like it was too tight around his heart and lungs making it hard to breath.  
  
"Come back to bed baby," Blaine said in a sleepy voice.  
  
Kurt stared at him a moment, drinking him in, and then he walked forward and climbed on to the bed. He flipped on the small lamp on the nightstand and Blaine blinked against the light and rubbed his eyes. He looked at Kurt, eyes warm and sleepy.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked, suddenly concerned.  
  
Kurt didn't think he could dredge up his voice right then so he just held the envelope out to Blaine, hoping that there was some kind of explanation, some kind of mistake that would make this all go away. Maybe this wasn't Blaine's Lifemate letter; maybe Kurt was having a terrible dream and Blaine would kiss him awake at any moment.  
  
Blaine's eyes looked from Kurt to the letter in his hands and Kurt watched as his face fell. He wasn't surprised to see the letter, just resigned. This was real then. This was happening.  
  
"Kurt, I'm sorry," Blaine said, his voice sounding reedy. "I didn't mean for you to find it like that. I was going to tell you in the morning…" He ran a hand through his unruly curls. "I just wanted… one more night without..." His words trailed off and his body slumped. He looked down at the letter, taking it from Kurt's hands. "I'm sorry," he repeated.  
  
"You haven't opened it," Kurt answered, hardly recognizing his voice, it came out so low. "Don't you want to know who…" His heart clenched painfully. “Who it is?"  
  
Blaine looked up at him with genuine confusion on his face. "What does it matter?"  
  
"It's your Lifemate," Kurt answered softly. "The person you're meant to spend your life with."  
  
Blaine's whole chest seemed to shudder as he took in a breath and then clutched at Kurt's hand, letting the envelope fall to the bed; he lifted Kurt's fingers to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the ring he'd given him. " _You_ are who I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with."  
  
Kurt couldn't hold his tears back anymore; they started rolling down his face, hot and thick, choking his throat. Blaine reached for him, wrapping an arm around his back and placing a hand on Kurt's neck, drawing him close until their chests were pressed together and Kurt was leaning his head on Blaine's shoulder and sobbing.  
  
Kurt was so full of longing and fear and anger. He was angry at a world that thought pulling him away from Blaine was right. He was angry at Blaine for not telling him his letter was here, even though a part of him understood why he did it; but mostly he was just terrified, terrified of facing a life without the person he loved most in the world.  
  
Kurt wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, him in the protective circle of Blaine's arms as he rubbed his back soothingly and Kurt cried into his shoulder. Eventually, he had to make himself stop, he felt guilty over his outburst. This was happening to Blaine.  
  
Blaine would be the one matched with a stranger, the one who might have to move away from New York leaving Kurt and Cooper and his dreams behind. What if Blaine's Lifemate was mean or cruel? What if they made Blaine's life miserable? These were all thoughts Kurt had worried over before but now they seemed so much heavier with the letter actually here.  
  
But… what if his Lifemate was someone Blaine could fall for? What if he was good for Blaine? What if Blaine forgets fall for him and forgets Kurt?  
  
Kurt shook himself out of those thoughts. Better someone Blaine would love than someone who would hurt him.  
  
Kurt took a deep breath and lifted his head to look Blaine in the eye. Blaine's face was tear-stained as well. Kurt attempted a small smile. "We'll open it together?"  
  
Blaine closed his eyes for a moment and Kurt so wished he knew what he was thinking. Then, he opened them, looked at Kurt and nodded; he picked up the envelope from where it had fallen on the bed and unceremoniously ripped it open. He pulled out the letter and started to read.  
  
"Blaine Anderson, congratulations your name has been drawn for the Lifemate Lottery." Blaine's voice faded and he stopped reading to clear his throat. His hands were shaking so much that Kurt wasn't sure he'd be able to read the letter even if his voice started working again.  
  
"Here, let me," he said, gently taking the paper from Blaine's hands; he licked his lips and cleared his throat, skimming down to the important part. "Since you are of legal age you have until July 6th, a month from the sending of this letter to wed your attended Lifemate…" Kurt wanted to look up and Blaine but knew if he stopped he wouldn't be able to continue.  
  
"Your Lifemate has also received a letter. You have an appointment at 12:00pm on June 9th at Lifemate Center #7329 in Manhattan to meet your chosen mate, Elliot Sean Gilbert." His voice broke and he had to force himself to push through. "Elliot Sean Gilbert, Lifemate number GE7U491 born 10/08/1991 currently residing in New York City, New York."  
  
Kurt stopped reading, this was all they really needed to know. He set the letter down in his lap and didn't look up at Blaine; he had stopped shaking while Blaine held him, but it started up again; he suddenly felt cold and a little sick. Elliot Gilbert, the name stung. The silence in the room was broken only by their breathing.  
  
Kurt finally spoke up, the stillness making him feel frenetic. "Does Cooper know?"  
  
"No. I thought I should talk to you first… Will you look at me?"  
  
Kurt kept his eyes trained on the bed sheet; he grabbed it and pulled it up over his chest, hanging onto it, his whole body shivering.  
  
"Kurt, look at me," Blaine repeated gently.  
  
"At least he's in New York," Kurt replied, ignoring Blaine's request.  
  
"…Kurt."  
  
"You'll still be near Cooper and… and me."  
  
"Kurt, please look at me." Blaine's voice sounded so broken that Kurt finally looked up; Blaine's face was always expressive, so seeing it now so lost and full of anguish, hurt like a cold stab to the heart.  
  
"Blaine-." Kurt was cut off as Blaine leaned forward, cupping Kurt's face with his hands and kissing him deeply. Kurt choked back a sob as he kissed him back, hands greedily clinging to Blaine's back as he pulled him forward. They fell back against the pillows, Blaine on top of him as he desperately moved his body against Kurt's.  
  
"Can we not talk about it right now?" Blaine asked, lips wet against Kurt's skin. "Just… not until morning?"  
  
"Okay." Kurt breathed; there was nothing he wouldn't agree to for Blaine's sake in this moment.  
  
Blaine settled down next to him, his body still mostly draped over Kurt's and he clung to him. Kurt didn't think there was any way he'd fall back to sleep with his mind full of fears and regrets and sorrow, but somehow he eventually fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

Blaine didn't go back to sleep; he just lay in bed holding Kurt and craving his warmth, nestling in so close he was afraid he'd wake him. He couldn't help it, though; this could be the last time he got to hold Kurt like this. He had tried so hard to make everything perfect that evening. One perfect night for them to look back on no matter what happened. Blaine smiled, feeling the warmth of Kurt's skin pressed against his own. It wasn't just one perfect night; they had so many sweet memories together. He hoped that would keep him going for what he had to do next.  
  
Blaine wished Cooper were home, he so needed to talk to him. Cooper wasn't going to change his mind, but still it would have been good to see him before Blaine left. Because Blaine had decided, he had pretty much known before he got the letter what he would do, but when he checked the mail that afternoon and saw the telltale blue of that envelope, he had known. He wasn't going to be paired. He wasn't going to go to the Lifemate center and meet his match. He wasn't going to marry or make promises to anyone that wasn't Kurt.  
  
He was leaving.  
  
This wasn't a rash decision. He had considered staying and marrying his Lifemate if that meant he was still near Kurt. But it was too risky, especially if he was still in New York. Eventually, his Lifemate would put things together; Kurt and he had never been good at hiding their feelings for each other. And then the Lifemate Registry would have the proof they needed. No, staying here meant too much danger for Kurt. He wouldn't do it.  
  
Since the day the Lifemate officials had interviewed him, he had a feeling this was coming. If they couldn't prove he and Kurt were together, they could just “randomly” draw Blaine’s name from the Lottery and try to end things that way. Blaine had long stopped believing the Lottery wasn’t rigged. He knew of too many gay people who had been paired with the opposite sex. Too many stories of people on the edge of society being paired with rigid conservatives who could keep them in line.  
  
Maybe, maybe in its conception the Lifemate Lottery was started to break social and economic binderies, to make people equals. But it wasn't like that now; now it seemed to be the government's strongest tool to keep people in line. And Blaine was done playing their game by their rules.  
  
People had run from their Lifemate letter before; the stories of those who were caught were always splashed across the pages of the newspapers, a cautionary tale for those who might think about running. But what about those who got away? Their stories were whispered rumors and hushed tales about nameless people. Blaine had to believe some had gotten away. If nothing else Blaine had to try.  
  
As the sun came up, he was tempted to get up and go make breakfast for Kurt, but decided to stay where he was, letting Kurt wake up with him by his side this one last time. It ended up being a good idea, as Kurt blinked his eyes open a few minutes later, yawning and smiling up at Blaine. Blaine smiled back, knowing that in his sleepy state Kurt had, for one kind moment, forgotten about the letter.  
  
Blaine pressed a kiss to his lips before Kurt gasped and sat up in bed looking at Blaine with wild eyes. "Was it a dream?" He asked, voice scratchy.  
  
Blaine's heart dropped and he shook his head. "No."  
  
"Oh god," Kurt cried and bent his knees to bury his head in them.  
  
"Kurt, we need to talk," Blaine said, sitting up and putting a hand on his back.  
  
Kurt looked up at him and then straightened up, his face set. "What are we going to do?"  
  
"I'm not marrying him," Blaine said simply.  
  
"You don't have a choice."  
  
"Yes, I do. Kurt… I… I'm leaving."  
  
It took a moment for the words to sink in but when they did Kurt's eyes grew round. "No."  
  
"Kurt, I have to. I won't marry someone I don't love, not when my heart is yours."  
  
"You'll be caught."  
  
"I've thought it through and this is the right thing to do."  
  
"They'll put you in prison."  
  
"I have a plan."  
  
" _You can't leave me_ ," Kurt said, hands gripping the sheets tightly and his face flashing with anger. "You can't leave me," Kurt said again, his eyes red rimmed. "If you stay here and marry… this Elliot, then at least we are both still in New York and we… we can still be in each other's lives."  
  
"And how long would it take before Elliot finds out? And how is that fair to him? No, Kurt. It is too dangerous."  
  
Kurt clenched his jaw. "So you are just going to run? Where does that leave us?"  
  
Blaine sighed and rubbed his head, a headache was building behind his eyes. "You'll be with Cooper. You'll still have your family-" Blaine stopped and looked back up when Kurt barked out a harsh sounding laugh.  
  
"You have lost your mind, Blaine Anderson, if you think I'm going to let you run off somewhere without me. Are you insane? If you go, I go."  
  
"But Kurt…"  
  
"No, Blaine. Where you go, I go."  
  
Kurt got out of bed abruptly and grabbed some clothes, pulling them on and slipping out of the sweatpants he'd been wearing, Blaine's sweatpants.  
  
"You have a plan, right? So what's the plan?" Kurt said, pulling on a shirt and some skinny jeans.  
  
"You have to think about what you'd lose Kurt," Blaine said, still sitting in bed. "You wouldn't be able to contact your family, at least not for a long time. You'd have to leave New York and give up your dreams of Broadway; we'd probably be moving around a lot, never calling one place home. Kurt, you… you can't just give up everything you've worked for."  
  
Kurt turned towards him, arms crossed; he looked at him with an odd expression, it was equal parts upset and confused. "Yeah. I get that, Blaine. I understand what I'd be leaving behind." He took a deep breath. "We do this together. What's the plan?"  
  
Blaine took in Kurt's determined face; he looked so much more in control than he did last night when he'd walked in with Blaine's letter, his face full of fear and his hands shaking. "You'd really go with me?"  
  
"Oh my god, Blaine!" Kurt threw his hands in the air. "How can you even ask that? Sometimes you drive me crazy."  
  
Blaine couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. "Okay. Okay then. We're doing this."  
  
Blaine got up and got dressed, trying to best plan out how to do this and keep Kurt as safe as possible.  
  
"I think I have to go first," Blaine said when they were in the kitchen a few minutes later, Kurt hiding his nerves by keeping busy and making a pot of coffee.  
  
"What do you mean?'  
  
"I go. It looks like I ran just because of my letter. You stay here, make a show of being happy with Cooper and act surprised that I'm gone. They'll think anything that was going on between us was just on my side."  
  
"Uh, _no_ ," Kurt said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Kurt. It would be temporary. After that, you and Cooper could go on a trip together, and you just wouldn't come home from it. Cooper would come back without you and then you and I would meet up.'  
  
"No," Kurt said incredulously. “You just want to leave first so that if you get caught right away I don't get caught too."  
  
Blaine sighed. Kurt wasn't completely wrong, but he honestly thought it would work better this way. "Kurt, I have to leave now, before my Lifemate appointment. I'll go and get things set up, I have… a contact." He did have a contact, someone who would help hide him and get in touch with someone who had successfully run from the government. At least he hoped he did. "Then I'd let you know when and how to meet me later. I really think if we both just up and left now we'd be caught."  
  
Kurt poured himself and Blaine each a mug of coffee, handing Blaine's to him after adding a little cinnamon. He took a sip of his own and looked like he was deep in thought. "You have a contact?"  
  
"Yes." Blaine nodded, yes it was a uncertain contact, but it was all he had to go on.  
  
"And you'd get in touch with me when things were… I don't know, ready?"  
  
Blaine took a sip of his own coffee and sighed, the warm liquid making him feel calmer. Kurt made the best coffee. "Of course I would."  
  
"This isn't just a plan to…" Kurt looked down at his mug. "To leave me behind?"  
  
"No! Kurt, no." Blaine set his mug down and walked up to him, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Never. The only reason I was thinking about doing this alone was because I didn't think I could ask you to leave your life here. But, Kurt, I'm not… I want you, Kurt. I'm always going to want you."  
  
Kurt looked back up at him with a little smile. "I told my dad something very similar about you once." He sighed and nodded. "I don't like it, but okay. If you think it will work I'll trust you."  
  
"Thank you, Kurt."  
  
Kurt bit his lip and then took in a deep shuddering breath, obviously trying to keep his cool. He reached for Blaine's hand. "When do you have to leave?"  
  
Blaine knew Kurt wouldn't like the answer, "I think we need to move all my stuff back downstairs and Cooper's stuff up here. Talk about our cover stories a little. Cooper has a good one not being in town right now and then… I need to be out of town before my appointment tomorrow. I should leave this afternoon and be as far away as possible."  
  
"That's… that's fast," Kurt said, holding his hand a little tighter, his eyes blinking rapidly to keep back his tears.  
  
Blaine lifted his face to meet Kurt's, kissing him softly. "It's temporary," he promised, knowing he'd do everything in his power to keep that promise


	27. Part Two: IX

Cooper came back from California early. He didn't have to, but once the Lifemate Registry contacted him letting him know his brother hadn't shown up for his pairing appointment, he knew New York was where he needed to be. That was the story he was going with at least. Kurt knew Blaine had called him before he left and told him he was leaving. Cooper waited until he heard from the Registry to come back though.

Kurt was surprised at how relieved he was to have Cooper here. The Registry had been calling a few times a day since Blaine missed his appointment wondering if Kurt had heard from him or had any idea where he was. Apparently, they had to wait two full days before they could officially declare Blaine a Lifemate runaway. Cooper was back by then.

The first thing Cooper did when he got to the apartment was wrap Kurt in a big hug. Kurt felt shaky and a little untethered and was grateful that Cooper was being the calm one for now. "You okay kid?" He asked, still hugging him.

  
"I'm just scared for him," Kurt answered.

  
Cooper pulled back, keeping his hands on Kurt's arms. "I can't believe he actually did it."

  
Kurt blinked at him, “Wait, did you think there was a chance that he’d run?"

  
"Ever since the inspection interview thing we had. He's been antsy. He made a few comments that made me think this might happen."

  
Kurt tried not to be upset at that. "He never even _hinted_ at it with me. One moment we were good and happy and the next…" Kurt swallowed back his fear and irritation. "He had his letter and he was telling me he was leaving."

  
"A lot of what he does he does to protect you," Cooper said.

  
"I don't need him to _protect_ me! I need him to _talk_ to me!" Kurt snapped, but his anger was short lived, his shoulders slumped. He wasn't mad at Cooper, he wasn't even really mad at Blaine; he was just worried. "So it looks like you're moving back here," Kurt said to change the subject.

  
"Yeah, we need to be a united front when the officials come to talk to us, because you know they will."

  
Kurt reached for his hand and swung it between them. "Happily married. Right?"

  
Cooper smiled. "Right."

  
They spent some time going over what they'd say to the Registry and making sure Cooper's things were in place. Cooper acted calm and collected but Kurt would catch a line to his brow or a faraway look in his eyes sometimes and Kurt knew he was worried about Blaine too.

  
Letting Blaine leave without him was one of the hardest things Kurt had ever done. Blaine had been stashing away cash for a little while so when he left, he took some with him and left some for Kurt, so a big withdrawal from his accounts wouldn't alert the Lifemate Registry. They had switched Blaine's things for Cooper’s and cleaned up all the candles still out from the night before.

  
Once Blaine was ready to go, Kurt thought his heart might beat right out of his chest. He couldn't believe this was all happening so fast, he couldn't believe he was so close to possibly losing Blaine.

  
"Where are you going?" Kurt asked as they stood by the doorway.

  
"Kurt, the less you know the less you'll have to lie about."

  
Kurt hated that, he hated all of this. " _Blaine_." He leaned his head against Blaine's, his thumb running over Blaine's cheek. "You're killing me here, this hurts too much."

  
Blaine made a broken sob of a noise, and Kurt ran his hand down his face and his fingers traced his lips. "How long do I wait, when will you let me know you're ready?"

  
Blaine looked like he was in pain.

  
"Don't tell me you don't know."

  
"Kurt… I _don't_ know."

  
"You can't just leave with me having no clue what's going on." Kurt was feeling desperate, dread like a snake coiling around his heart.

  
"I know I'm asking a lot of you, and it isn't fair. But there is a lot I don't know yet. I just need you to trust that I am going to do everything possible to make sure we are together. Safe and together."

  
Kurt's patience with this whole situation was wearing thin, but he did trust Blaine. "Okay, but you better know that if you don't contact me soon enough I am going to come find you. Got that?"

  
Blaine had smiled, told him he understood, and kissed him goodbye. Not goodbye, it wasn't goodbye.

  
"I love you," Kurt breathed as Blaine backed away.

  
"I love you too. I'll… talk to you soon." And then he was gone and Kurt had no idea what to do.

  
It all seemed like such a horrible idea now. He should have gone with him; he shouldn't be here without any idea where Blaine was. It didn't feel right.

  
It was the Wednesday after Blaine left that the Lifemate Registry officials showed up. They banged on the door and Cooper answered. It was Hilda again, but next to her was a tall dark skinned man in a suit. Neither of them smiled this time.

  
"Hello," Cooper greeted, letting them in. "You must be here about my brother. Have you found out anything?"

  
Hilda and the man walked in wordlessly, looking around the apartment until their eyes landed on Kurt.

  
"You've met my husband, Kurt," Cooper said.

  
"Yes," Hilda said. "This is Addison." She waved her hand at the man with her and gave him no other name.

  
"Hello," the man said, shaking Cooper’s and then Kurt's hands; his grip was stiff and unfriendly. "I'll be conducting the interview today while Ms. Miller looks around."

  
"I'd be happy to show you a-"

  
"That won't be necessary," Addison interrupted. "We will need a key to your brother's apartment."

  
"Alright," Cooper said and took one off of his keychain. Hilda accepted it with a sour expression before she left the room to go poke around the bedroom. Kurt just watched, they could look around if they wanted, they wouldn't find anything to prove he and Blaine were together and they certainly weren't going to find Blaine.

  
"What exactly are you hoping to find? Something to help you locate Blaine?" Cooper asked, sitting down on the couch. Kurt followed his lead, stomach flipping over itself. Cooper casually reached for his hand and held it, rubbing his thumb over it the way Blaine sometimes did. Kurt thought Cooper was probably doing it just for show, but it actually helped him calm down a little.

  
"You do realize that running from your Lifemate letter is a serious offence?" Addison asked.

  
"Yes. It is," Cooper said. "You have to understand, though, my kid brother is a little head strong, but he's a good guy. I think he'll probably come to his senses and turn himself in to be honest."

  
"Let's hope for his sake that is true," Addison said, his face never changing expressions. "Kurt," he said sharply, looking at him squarely in the eyes. "I'm going to be upfront with you and I hope you'll do the same."

  
"Of course I will," Kurt said, sitting up straighter.

  
"Is there a possibility that Blaine has feelings for you?"

  
Kurt had been expecting a question like this. "Blaine is my friend, a good friend. He made me feel welcome when Cooper and I were paired, even before Cooper and I finally got comfortable with each other."

  
"Yes, but that doesn't answer my question does it? I have reason to believe Blaine may think he is in love with you."

The way he said "think" ruffled Kurt's feathers but he didn't let it show. "What reasons?" Kurt asked, scrunching his brows.

  
"I thought we were going to be straight with each other here."

  
Kurt narrowed his eyes, Kurt didn't like this guy; it made it easier to lie to him. "No. I don't think Blaine has those kinds of feelings for me. We are only friends."

  
"And what about you?"

  
"Do I have romantic feelings for Blaine?" Kurt asked, raising his eyebrows. "No, it was gradual, but I am very much in love with  
my Lifemate," Kurt answered.

  
Hilda walked back into the living room, her cheeks a little red.

  
"You're lying," she said and her voice was almost shrill. It took Kurt by surprise.

  
"Hilda, please," Addison said, looking at her like he was bored.

  
"We _know_ you're lying," She said and held something up in between her fingers. It was small and black and Kurt had no idea what it was, but his heart was hammering in his chest like a cornered rabbit.

  
" _Excuse me_?" Cooper said. "We aren't lying, we have been nothing but cooperative."

  
"What is your problem?" Kurt asked, looking at Hilda who was obviously fuming. Kurt hoped he looked and sounded more confident than he was; he was actually feeling a little sick.

  
Hilda marched into the room and tossed what was in her hand down to the coffee table.

  
"Do you know what that is? It's a bug. We _know_ you're lying, we have it all on tape," Hilda said with a scowl.

  
Kurt's blood ran cold. Cooper just tightened his grip on Kurt's hand.

  
"Huh," Cooper said, looking down at the device. "That's uncomfortable. You've been bugging Kurt’s and my _bedroom_? Get anything kinky?"

  
Hilda's face turned an even deeper shade of red as her jaw set, she was furious. "We know. _We know_ Kurt and Blaine are together."

  
Kurt didn't know if he was going to cry or be sick or just fall apart, but somehow Cooper was completely calm.

  
"If you have tapes proving these wild accusations, why aren't you arresting us?"

  
There was a long silence where Kurt thought his heart might stop working altogether and it was Addison who finally spoke.

  
"Hilda, this would be a good time to go check the downstairs apartment."

  
"But you know they're lying!"

  
" _Hilda,_ " he said sternly and looked at her. Hilda backed up a little as if even she was afraid of him. Then she spun on her heels and marched out of the apartment.

  
Kurt watched her go and then turned back to Addison. "What… I…" He couldn't find any words, were they about to be arrested or not?

  
"Is is common practice to bug people you are investigating?" Cooper asked.

  
"Yes," Addison answered simply. "Oddly, though, none of the bugs we put in either of your apartments ever picked anything up. It seems they were faulty." He looked Cooper in the eye and Cooper's lips tipped up in a little smile.

  
"That's too bad," Cooper said a little smugly. "I'm pretty sure the tape from our bedroom would have been hot."

  
"Has Blaine been in contact with either of you since he fled?” Addison asked, changing the subject.

  
"No," Kurt said and it was the truth.

  
Cooper shook his head. "Unfortunately not."

  
Addison looked at Kurt. "You were here in New York when he left; you had no suspicions of his plans?"

  
"No. I didn't. I didn't even know he'd gotten his Lifemate letter." Kurt kept his hand in Cooper's, wishing it were Blaine's hand but still appreciating the support. Hilda was lying about the tapes, which meant they had nothing on them and were grasping at straws. Kurt hoped that was the case at least. There was a long silence and Kurt was determined not to be the first one to break it.

  
"I hope you both understand if you are lying to a Lifemate official you would be strictly punished." Addison's low voice took on a slightly threatening quality. "And that you could both end up in serious trouble if you interfere in this investigation or withhold information."

  
"I understand that," Kurt said.

  
"I would _never_ ," Cooper replied and he only sounded a little sarcastic.

  
"Very well," Addison said, rising from his chair. Kurt and Cooper followed suit. "We'll be in touch." He handed them both his business card. "I expect to hear from you if you think of anything you think I should know." And with that he was out the door.

  
Kurt stood frozen in place for a moment before he collapsed back on the couch. Now that he didn't have to keep up a façade, he started trembling slightly. "Oh god." He looked up at Cooper. "Bugs? They planted _bugs_?"

  
Cooper put a finger to his lips as he went to the cabinet near the TV where they kept the Bluerays and pulled something out; it looked like a remote of some kind. He clicked it on and there was a high pitched buzzing noise. Copper flipped it off again and then stood.

  
Kurt blinked at him. "What the hell?"

  
"After they were here the last time, I thought they might have bugged us. I got this from a sound guy I met working on the movie. It makes the bugs useless."

  
"I… you _knew_? Why didn't you say anything? Instead you just get all James Bond on me?"

Cooper shrugged. "I didn't want to freak you out."

  
"Cooper! I'm freaked out okay?" He stood from the couch. "And you know what the worst of it is? The fact that you and Blaine kept things from me. I should have known about the bugs and the fact that Blaine had plans of leaving. You shouldn't have left me out! We are all in this together, my future is on the line too!" Kurt was breathing heavy and he was close to tears.

  
"I'm sorry," Cooper said sincerely. "We… I mean he didn't know about the bugs either and I… I'm sorry Kurt."

  
Kurt held his head in his hand. "We are all going to end up in jail… I'll… I'll never see him again."

  
"No." Cooper shook his head and sat down pulling Kurt down by the hand to sit next to him. "I talk about you in every media interview I do. Marie has worked hard promoting us as some kind of golden couple. The Lifemate Registry will think twice before messing with us. The public is on our side."

  
Kurt looked up at Cooper, surprised. "You've thought this through."

  
Cooper shrugged. "I think it is why they didn't do anything after our first interview; they know they need to have solid proof. And they don't have it."

  
"Blaine ran, though; it doesn't matter if they have proof on us if they catch him…" Kurt felt a cold shiver run down his spine. "I shouldn't have let him go."

  
"Kurt, if you hadn't, he would be married to someone else by now."

  
Kurt felt a little sick at the reminder. "I know."

  
It didn't make waiting for Blaine to contact him easier. Kurt got up to start dinner, he wasn't really hungry but he needed something to do. He felt restless and on edge. Cooper followed him in and helped get everything together for the meal.

  
"What if he is stuck somewhere and can't get in touch with me?" Kurt asked after some silence, expecting Cooper to keep up with his thoughts.

  
Cooper stuck his finger in the spaghetti sauce and ducked away as Kurt tried to swat him with a spoon.

  
"Listen, Kurt, there's something else you need to know."

  
Kurt stirred the pasta sauce and waited.

  
"I know everything looks bleak now, but don't worry. Blaine… Blaine is with a friend."

  
Kurt looked at him and narrowed his eyes.

  
"Blaine's with Sebastian. Sebastian has a contact that knows how to help in these situations. Everything will be fine."

  
"Wait… What? _What_?" Kurt stomach clenched a little.

  
"Kurt… I…."

  
"Are you telling me Blaine is somewhere with _Sebastian Smythe_ right now?" His voice had jumped an octave but he couldn't help it.

  
"Seb can be trusted," Cooper said. "We've known the Smythes for years; he'd never turn Blaine in."

  
"There are other things I am worried about with Sebastian." Kurt had wondered about who this contact was but he had never pictured Blaine camped out in hiding somewhere with _Sebastian_. Why? Why Sebastian and why had Blaine kept so much from him? "Cooper, where are they?" Kurt demanded.

 

"I honestly don't have any idea. And if you try to get in touch with Sebastian you're just going to draw attention to him."

  
" _Cooper_." Kurt's head was pounding; all he could think of was Sebastian's hands all over Blaine when they used to date.

  
"Kurt, Blaine trusted you with me, you can trust him with Sebastian."

  
"I… but…" Kurt closed his eyes for a moment, he knew Cooper was right but it didn't help the images of Blaine and Sebastian together sting any less. "It isn't Blaine I don't trust." Kurt opened his eyes to find Cooper look at him sheepishly. "I hate this, Cooper."

  
"I know kid, I know," he said and sighed. "We just have to wait and yeah, that bites."

 

"When Blaine does get in touch with me, he is going to have so much explaining to do," Kurt said, turning back to the dinner. Somehow being a little angry with Blaine helped mask the worry that was deep in Kurt's gut.

  
Kurt postponed his trip to Lima, wanting to be in New York if Blaine needed him. Waiting to hear from Blaine was torture, everyday he expected a call saying Blaine had been caught and imprisoned. Or what if Blaine never contacted Kurt at all? What if he went years without hearing from him? Kurt shot that idea down; he wouldn't let that happen, he'd find Blaine himself if he had to. He would only wait that long.

  
He was back to sharing a bed with Cooper, for sleeping purposes only of course. It had been two weeks since Blaine left when Kurt woke with a start, a dream about Blaine being chased down and caught still fresh in his mind. It was weird to wake up with Cooper's long motionless frame next to him. All he wanted was to have Blaine's arm strewn over his chest as he spread out in his sleep and took more than his portion of the bed. Blaine was always so warm and had an incurable need to cuddle.

  
Kurt took the job at the diner shortly after Blaine left and he tried to fill his time with as many activities as possible. But still the days dragged on. He started developing little habits to get him through the day. Counting his steps down the apartment stairs. Tapping any door handle three times before opening it. Turning the New York snow globe Blaine gave him upside down every morning before he got out of bed and watching it until all of the snow settled at the bottom.

  
He knew these things were silly but he couldn't help it, his nerves were getting the better of him.

It had been over three weeks since Blaine left when Cooper found him curled in the corner of his room holding a sweater that smelled like Blaine and crying softly.

  
The day had been going alright; he went to work and then called Rachel for a short chat. When he got home, though, he was hit with the soft smell of Cooper's cologne and Kurt felt wobbly on his feet. This was his and Blaine's apartment; how long before Blaine's presence was all but gone from it?

  
He went to the downstairs apartment and grabbed a sweater from the closet that smelled like Blaine; he held it to his face for a moment before heading back upstairs to his bedroom, settling down on the floor. He hugged the sweater to his chest and closed his eyes, letting Blaine's smell wrap around him. Wanting Blaine so much it was a physical pain.

  
When Cooper found him, he sat down and wrapped an arm around his back. Kurt leaned his head on Cooper's shoulder but it was all wrong. Cooper's shoulder was too high, his hand on Kurt's back wasn't as firm and he didn't radiate heat the way Blaine did.

  
"I'm giving him one more week," Kurt said, sniffing and drying his eyes, then looking down to see the ring on his finger from Blaine and twisting it around for good luck. In a week, Blaine would have been gone for a little over a month.

  
"And then what?" Cooper asked.

  
"And then… I'm going to find him."

  
Cooper didn't respond, he just held him as Kurt's tears dried.

  
It had been 32 days since Blaine has kissed him, promised everything would be alright, told Kurt he loved him and then left. Kurt was done waiting. He didn't know where Blaine was, but he knew who did. He needed more than that, though; he needed a plan for when he found Blaine. He grabbed his phone and called Brittany.

  
"Hey Kurt!" She answered cheerfully.

  
"Brittany. I need to talk to you about Santana."


	28. Part Two: X

Blaine was in hiding, staying in a sketchy motel and hardly ever leaving his room, to scared that the Registry would find and arrest him. He was in a constant state of limbo, worry and fear. Sebastian had come by a few times with food and news, but mostly Blaine was left sitting alone in this dingy room worrying about Kurt and Cooper and the mess he'd left them in.  
  
This had seemed like the only choice he had when his Lifemate letter arrived, and he’d been planning for this eventuality since the Lifemate Registry came by for that inspection. As soon as Hilda and Mr. Browne left that day Blaine shut the door behind them and pulled out his phone, glancing at a text from Kurt and then looking for Sebastian's phone number. He didn't know if this was a good idea or not, this could be such a bad idea, but he had to do  _something_.  
  
The phone rang and Blaine pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache forming at the back of his eyes  
  
"Hello? Blaine?" Sebastian's voice on the other end answered, sounding surprised. Blaine sighed and walked out of the apartment needing to move. He looked around to make sure he was alone and headed towards the stairwell.  
  
"Hey, Sebastian."  
  
"Well this is a nice surprise. I didn't expect to hear from you, I've hardly talked to you at all since you moved."  
  
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry about that," Blaine said, rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
"You okay? You sound exhausted," Sebastian asked and Blaine sighed again.  
  
"Do you remember once telling me that you..." Oh god how was he even going to approach this? Did he really think Sebastian would help him with everything that had happened between them?  
  
"Hey, Blaine," Sebastian spoke up. "We're still friends you know. You can talk to me."  
  
Blaine nodded even though Sebastian couldn't' see him. "You told me once that you knew someone who ran from the Lifemate Registry. Is... is that true?"  
  
There was a silence, and Blaine only knew Sebastian was on the line because he heard him breathing, and then Sebastian finally spoke up again.  
  
"God Blaine, are you in some kind of trouble?"  
  
"I think I will be. I think I'm going to get my Lifemate letter soon."  
  
"You aren't seriously thinking about dodging your letter?" Sebastian said, voice lowered and a little sharp.  
  
"You said you were thinking about it."  
  
"I was kidding!"  
  
"If you can't help me, just say, but I need a plan if you are part of it or not."  
  
" _Fuck,_ " Sebastian said and there was another pause. "Okay, yeah. Let me just... let me see what I can find out. I'll get back to you. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Blaine answered.  
  
"Is this escape plan going to be for... just you?" Sebastian asked too casually.  
  
Blaine's heart clenched. "I hope not Sebastian. I... I don't know."  
  
Sebastian sighed. "...Okay. I'll call you."  
  
"Thank you Seb."  
  
"Sure."  
  
"No Sebastian really,  _thank you_."  
  
"You're an idiot you know."  
  
"Yeah... probably."  
  
Blaine hung up feeling a little panicky; he needed to squash that down, and go see how things went with Kurt and Cooper upstairs.  
  
After the inspection, Blaine and Sebastian talked a few more times, making plans. Blaine wasn't going to do anything unless he got his letter, but he needed to be ready. He just hoped that Kurt would go with him. He couldn't ask Kurt to give up his whole life, but Blaine didn't know what he would do if he had to leave Kurt behind for good. He wanted to be with Kurt so much, but he'd make sure Kurt was happy and safe above all else. If Kurt chose New York, his family and his dreams over Blaine – he wouldn't argue.  
  
Once Blaine did get his Lifemate letter, everything moved quickly form there. He texted Sebastian and then started getting everything ready; if this was it, if this was goodbye, he wanted one more perfect night with Kurt.  
  
It turned out that Kurt had insisted they do this together before Blaine even had a chance to mention it. A massive weight lifted off Blaine's shoulders as soon as the words, "Where you go, I go," came from Kurt's mouth. Blaine felt lighter than air; he didn't have to think about a future without Kurt. Kurt was coming too.  
  
He still left New York without Kurt, though; he had to get things squared away with the guy Sebastian knew and make sure things were safe, then he'd call Kurt and they... Blaine didn't know. He guessed they would disappear together. He felt awful about not telling Kurt about Sebastian, but he wanted Kurt to have as little as possible to lie about with the Lifemate Registry.  
  
And now he was alone, trusting his future and _Kurt’s future_ to Sebastian Smythe. Blaine didn’t know what other choice he had; Seb was the only person Blaine knew that actually had a friend who fled his Lifemate letter.  Sebastian said his contact should be able to help but that he needed time and would let Sebastian know when things were ready. Blaine had yet to meet him and he was getting tense.  
  
Besides he missed Kurt like crazy. Kurt's sweet smile and encouraging presence and the way he always thought on his feet in a crisis. It was hard to be stuck alone with too much time on his hands to sit and think about all the ways this could go wrong. God, what if he was found and arrested? Would he even be allowed to see Kurt ever again?  
  
There was a knock on his motel door and Blaine jumped, pulled from his thoughts. He got up and checked the peephole; it was Sebastian, it was always Sebastian. He opened the door and Sebastian slid in. He looked around the room for a minute before plopping down on a chair by the bed.  
  
"This place is still as depressing as ever."  
  
_"You_  don't have to stay here, trust me it is worse than you think," Blaine said, sitting down on the bed and leaning forward, elbows on his knees a little. "Have you heard anything? I don't understand why this is taking so long; either he can help or he can't."  
  
"Blaine, you want to disappear, be completely untraceable and start a new life without the government ever finding you. That is no easy task," Sebastian replied.  
  
Blaine understood that, but still it did seem like things were working out the way they should have. "That is why I need to meet this guy you know Seb! Get things moving? I…" Blaine held his head. "I never planned on being away from Kurt so long."  
  
"That's probably good, though, don't you think?"  
  
Blaine looked up. "How is me sitting here for a month with Kurt in New York and not knowing what is going on a good thing?"  
  
Sebastian looked hesitant for a moment before he moved to sit by Blaine on the bed. "It's just that… this is what you want, not to marry your Lifemate. And I know Hummel said he wanted to go with you but…"  
  
Blaine sat up straighter and looked Sebastian in the eyes. "What are you trying to say?"  
  
"I'm saying in the heat of the moment, right after getting your letter, of course Kurt said he wanted to go with you. I'm sure he meant it too, right then at least."  
  
Blaine cleared his throat. "Kurt and I are in love."  
  
"I know, _trust me_  I know.” Sebastian rolled his eyes. “I'm pretty sure I knew Kurt was crazy about you before you did. Him pining for you was gross really."  
  
" _Seb_." Blaine's voice held a warning.  
  
"Hey, all I'm saying is now that it has been a month and Kurt has had time to think it over and know what life is like in New York, even without you… I wonder if he is still so willing to give it all up? I mean, wasn't going to New York a dream of his like,  _forever_? Wasn't it a big point of contention between him and Cooper?"  
  
Blaine shook his head but his stomach was feeling a little hollow. "Kurt said that-"  
  
Sebastian cut him off, "I know what he said, I get it. I just think you should be prepared to do this without him because you don't know for sure that he isn’t glad he stayed in New York."  
  
Blaine clenched his jaw and looked away. Sebastian was wrong. Kurt loved him; he wanted to be with him. Blaine hated everything they both had to give up, but Kurt wasn't going to change his mind… he wasn't. Was he?  
  
Sebastian scooted over on the bed a little closer to Blaine and placed a hand on his leg. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy here. I just don't want to see you hurt."  
  
"You don't know him like I do," Blaine said in a quiet voice, still not looking at Sebastian.  
  
"I'd go."  
  
Blaine looked at him confused.  
  
"I'd go with you. If Kurt can't do it, if he won't do it, I would go with you. I never much liked the idea of a Lifemate anyway." His hand crept a little farther up Blaine's leg.  
  
Blaine was frozen for a moment taking in what was happening and what Sebastian was offering. "Sebastian, don't. I need you as a friend right now."  
  
"I  _am_  your friend," he said and leaned forward a bit. "You know what kind of risk I'm taking to help you? The Lifemate Registry has questioned me about you. I'm your friend. I'm loyal."  
  
Blaine sighed and lifted Sebastian's hand from his leg and placed it on the bed.  
  
"Thank you for that Sebastian."  
  
"Would it be so bad Blaine? If you couldn't have Kurt at least you wouldn't be alone. I could come with you."  
  
Blaine was trying to think of a way to reply - to tell Sebastian it couldn't happen and yet not hurt his feelings -when Sebastian leaned in and pressed his lips against Blaine's. Blaine was frozen in shock for a moment when Sebastian's lips met his own, but then he yelped and was on his feet in an instant. So fast, in fact, that Sebastian fell over on the bed.  
  
"What the hell Sebastian!" Blaine shouted.  
  
Sebastian stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. "Damn it Blaine, I've been in love with you a lot longer than Kurt has!"  
  
As soon as the words left his mouth, Sebastian seemed to regret them. A long silence hung in the air.  
  
"You…" Blaine blinked. "You… please tell me you didn't just say that."  
  
"Blaine..."  
  
"You're not… You can't be…" Blaine didn't want it to be true. He knew Sebastian had always been after him but that didn't mean he was  _in love_. It didn't even matter; he could never feel that way about Seb, Even if this tore Kurt away from him Blaine didn’t feel that way about Sebastian.   
  
"Sebastian. I love Kurt," he said a little brokenly, he didn’t want to hurt anyone. "You and I? We aren't ever going to be together."  
  
Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "Fine. Whatever."  
  
"I'm sorry. I… You’ve been a good friend, and I’m so grateful… if you don't want to help me anymore, I understand. If you could just give me some way to get in touch with your contact I-"  
  
"There is no contact!" Sebastian yelled, his face flushed. "God Blaine!"  
  
Blaine didn't understand what he’d just heard, "What do you mean there is no contact?"  
  
"Yeah, I knew a guy who ran, and I did try to get in touch with him for you, but it all fell through weeks ago. I have no contact."  
  
"Sebastian, if you are just saying this because you're mad…"  
  
Sebastian started to laugh but there was no humor in it. "You must really have a low opinion of me. I'm not just saying this because you rejected me.  _I have no contact_."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me this sooner! As soon as you knew?" The pity Blaine had been feeling for Sebastian was ebbing away, and in its place, Blaine was filled with fear and anger. Everything seemed to be coming crashing down around him.  
  
"Because I wanted a little more time with you okay? I wanted a chance to convince you to give us a go!"  
  
"There is no  _us_!" Blaine all but shouted. "This is so dangerous, staying in one place, I… I should have been coming up with another plan! I should have been doing  _something_! And you've just been trying to…" Blaine ran his hands down his face "Ugh! Sebastian…" He looked up at him, his anger dissipating, leaving him feeling cold and hollow. He believed that Sebastian didn’t mean any harm, but it didn’t matter, the harm was done. "You need to leave."  
  
"What?" Sebastian said, surprised, his arms uncrossing. "I'm all you've got."  
  
"Yeah, you were and you  _still_  lied to me and tried to manipulate me, and it is time for you to leave." Blaine didn't know what he was going to do now. He had no plan, no way to run away with Kurt . . . if Kurt still did want to come. Nothing.  
  
Sebastian's jaw clenched and he stared at Blaine for a moment before he turned to leave. "Just turn yourself in," he said softly when he got to the door. "You'll be fined or… I don't know, you might get a short sentence, but if you just turn yourself in and marry your Lifemate, they'll go easy on you. I don't know what choice you have left." Before Blaine could respond, Sebastian was out the door.  
  
Blaine went to the window and watched him get to his car and drive away, he looked back at his rundown motel room and then made up his mind. He really didn't think that even after all this Sebastian would turn him in, but he couldn't risk it.  
  
He piled his things back into his bag. He needed to leave; he just had no idea where to go. And as he left the motel, the things Sebastian had said about Kurt echoed in his head. What if Kurt had changed his mind? What if, after everything, he ended up losing Kurt anyway? Blaine rubbed a thumb over his ring and bit his lip. When had everything gone so wrong?


	29. Part Two: XI

The cab pulled up to Kurt's old home in Lima and Kurt hesitated for a moment. He hadn't told his dad or Carol that he was coming, not that he thought they would mind. It was just that after this visit, Kurt didn't know how long it would be before he was back here, or if he'd ever be able to return. He finally made himself get out of the cab, it was time to face the situation, he paid the driver and then wheeled his suitcase to the front door.  
  
Should he knock? He'd never knocked before, he was being silly. He opened the door and walked in. "Dad? Carol?" He called, knowing they might both be at work. Once he'd looked around the house and confirmed that they weren't home yet, he brought his suitcase up to his old room, passing Finn's on the way but not going in. He sat on his bed and pulled out his phone. There was a text from Cooper.  
  
_Let me know when you get there._  
  
Kurt smiled. He knew Cooper was anxious for him, and anxious for news about Blaine.  
  
_Just got home._  Kurt texted back.  _Still settling in._  
  
They couldn't say much through text message; as far as they knew, the Lifemate Registry would demand to read their texts. But Cooper knew Kurt was in Ohio to find Blaine and he knew Kurt wasn't planning on coming back.  
  
Saying goodbye to Cooper had been harder than Kurt had expected. For all the haughty coolness that had marked the beginning of their relationship, Cooper had become a dear friend, he was family and Kurt loved him. He knew it would be even harder to say goodbye to his Dad and Carol. He hoped they understood.  
  
Kurt sighed at the thought and the fact that it was only Cooper who had texted him. He had been trying to get in touch with Sebastian since he made his plans yesterday, but Sebastian wasn't answering his calls. If Kurt didn't hear from Sebastian today, he was going to go straight to the Smythe estate in Cleveland and hope that someone was there. Finding Sebastian was the key to finding Blaine.  
  
He called Sebastian's number again and it went to voicemail.  
  
"Sebastian, its Kurt again," he said, trying to sound friendly but not quite pulling it off. “I wanted to let you know I'm in Ohio and I was hoping to see you during this visit." He didn't know what the Lifemate Registry was listening to so he tried to keep things casual. "Call me or I'll just swing by your place."  
  
Kurt hung up and held the phone in his hands for a minute. He was afraid Sebastian's silence was more than him just avoiding Kurt; what if he was on the run with Blaine? Or in hiding? What if they had both been discovered and arrested? How would he find Blaine then? Time was of the essence too, they needed to move.  
  
Kurt couldn't just sit and wait for someone to get home; he was too tense, his nerves churning in his stomach. He went downstairs and poked around the kitchen, seeing what he could make for dinner. Hopefully, his dad and Carol didn't have dinner plans and could come home to a freshly cooked meal.  
  
Kurt was just finishing everything up for Chicken Marsala when he heard the front door open. He could tell by the heavy footsteps that it was his dad. Kurt took a deep breath and put on a smile before heading to the hallway. His dad was slipping off his shoes and then stopped when he saw Kurt.  
  
"Hey dad!"  
  
"Kurt?" His dad raised his eyebrows and looked at him in surprise for a minute before smiling and moving forward to wrap him in a tight hug. "Kurt! Oh bud, it is so good to see you."  
  
Kurt held his dad back, feeling better than he had since Blaine left. His dad knew that Blaine was missing of course, but they had never really talked about what Kurt knew and what he didn't, though, Kurt felt pretty sure his dad had figured out more than he let on.  
  
Burt finally let him go and stepped back to look at him. "You're here, you're home!"  
  
Kurt smiled. "I am. And I made dinner."  
  
Burt sniffed the air a little bit. "Smells good bud." He put his hand on his shoulder as they walked back to the kitchen. "Carol will be home any minute."  
  
They didn't talk much as Burt helped Kurt finish up dinner and set the table; they both knew they were avoiding the big subject of why Kurt was here and what was happening with Blaine, but for just a few minutes, they let it go and acted like everything was normal.  
  
Carol was thrilled to see Kurt when she got home, giving him a tight hug and getting a little teary eyed. "It's good to have you here," she said and kissed his forehead. "I wish Blaine was here too." Kurt nodded, his chest feeling tight.  
  
They sat down to dinner and talked about Burt’s and Carol's jobs and then Burt told Kurt that he was thinking about running for congress and that took up the conversation until dinner was over. Both his dad and Carol kept looking at him for longer than necessary and patting his back and squeezing his hand. He wondered if they already knew that this trip was a goodbye.  
  
Burt was cleaning up after dinner, insisting that Carole and Kurt take it easy. They were sitting in the living room together when Carol finally brought up the subject they'd been avoiding. "Have you heard from Blaine at all?" Carol asked carefully.  
  
Kurt shook his head. "No. I… I don't know what's happening. I expected to know something by now."  
  
Carol nodded. "You two are meant to be together, Kurt. I believe it will work out. After losing Finn…” She paused a moment clearing her throat, “I just think life is too sort not to live it in a way that makes you happy. And you know your dad and I are behind you no matter what.”   
  
Kurt felt a little choked up, so he just nodded. He hated the idea of leaving without a way to see Carol or his dad or even Cooper again. But he had made his choice. He loved Blaine and he had made the decision long ago that if there were a chance for them to be together, he would always take it.  
  
Burt joined them shortly after that; he must have sensed the somber mood of the room because he sat down next to Kurt, who was now between him and Carol on the couch, and took his ball cap off to rub his head. "Well Kurt, this is it isn't it?"  
  
" _Dad_ ," Kurt said, not knowing how to explain.  
  
"It's okay. You don't have to say anything. I get it."  
  
Kurt fought back his tears. "I don't know where he is," he said in a quiet voice. "But I'm here to find him and then…"  
  
Burt nodded and cleared his throat gruffly. "I know, Kurt. And I'm proud of you. What you're doing is very brave."  
  
"You don't think it's foolish?"  
  
Burt laughed a little. "Sometimes love makes you do dumb things, but fighting for the right to be with the person you love? No, I don't think that's foolish."  
  
"Because I feel like I've made a mess of all of this. Both Blaine and Cooper had plans. They had been doing things to either keep us safe or make a way for us to be together and I did nothing. I guess…. I just so wanted things to work out on their own, but that was naive."  
  
Burt wrapped his arm around Kurt's back. "You're doing something now."  
  
"Yeah… but none of it matters if I can't find Blaine."  
  
"You will," Carol encouraged. "Or he'll find you. You two won't be apart for long."  
  
Kurt felt like his heart was tearing in two having to leave his family behind, having to say goodbye like this. He barely slept that night between worrying about leaving his dad and Carol and worrying about finding Blaine.  
  
The next day, after leaving two more voicemails for Sebastian, Kurt was planning on driving out to the Smythes’ that afternoon.   
  
Even if Sebastian wasn't there, it was a place to start. He was downstairs with Burt and Carol, who had both taken the day off, when his phone rang and Sebastian's name appeared on the screen. Kurt's heart leapt and he answered immediately.  
  
"Sebastian."  
  
“Hummel."  
  
"What took you so long to call me? Didn't you get all my messages?" Kurt said tersely, his heart beating too fast.  
  
"Yeah well, talking to you wasn't high on my priority list."  
  
Kurt felt his cheeks grow warm, he hated that Sebastian was involved in any of this at all.  
  
"Listen, Sebastian, we don't like each other. Fine. That's in the open and frankly I don't care how you feel about me," Kurt said through his teeth. "But I think that we both care about Blaine, so for his sake, don't make this more difficult than it has to be."  
  
There was a pause on Sebastian's end and then a groan. "Fine, Hummel. What do you want?"  
  
"I need to know where he is, Sebastian."  
  
"If he didn't tell you why should I?"  
  
Kurt clenched his fist. "Because this is important and he could be caught by the Lifemate Registry at any minute. Do you want to help him or not?"  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Where are you right now?"  
  
"I'm at my dad's in Lima."  
  
"Fine. Give me the address and I'll meet you there. I'll take you to Blaine."  
  
"He... he's in Ohio?" Kurt's heart fluttered, he was so close.  
  
"Yeah, are you in or what?"  
  
Kurt gave him the address and Sebastian said he'd be there soon. Kurt got off the phone and found Carol and his dad waiting for him.  
  
"You know where he is?" His dad asked solemnly. "You off?"  
  
Kurt swallowed and his eyes began to sting. "I have to find him."  
  
"I know," his dad said, hugging him. "You don't have to explain." He pulled back. "What do you need?"  
  
Kurt shook his head. "I... nothing right now. If the Registry comes to talk to you, you can tell them I was here for a short trip and you don't know anything else." Kurt held back his tears seeing that both Carol and his dad were teary-eyed.  
  
By the time Sebastian got there, Kurt was packed and ready to go. He didn't know if he'd be coming back to his dad's house later or if he and Blaine would be leaving sooner than that. So he took his suitcase and said his goodbyes, with tight hugs and promises to be in touch as soon as it was safe. Burt had gotten him a car. A beat up old thing from his shop, but it ran and no one would be looking for it so it would be good for him and Blaine.  
  
"He's staying at the motel outside of town." Sebastian explained. "You can follow me there."  
  
"Thank you," Kurt said. He may not like it, but if Sebastian had helped keep Blaine safe then he was grateful.  
  
He pulled away from his Dad’s house and didn’t look behind. He’d see his family again someday, he had to believe that. Kurt followed Sebastian to a rundown little town outside of Westerville and to an even more rundown looking motel. This is where Blaine had been staying for the past month? The idea of that made Kurt depressed. Sebastian led Kurt to a room and then knocked on the door. Kurt’s heart started beating faster. Blaine was on the other side of that door. He needed to see him so much, to see with his own two eyes that he was safe.  
  
No one answered and Sebastian knocked again. Kurt called through the door. "Hello? Blaine? It's Kurt." But still, there was no answer.  
  
Sebastian looked concerned.  
  
"Maybe he's out," Kurt suggested.  
  
"He doesn't really go out, not with the Lifemate Registry looking for him." He knocked on the door again, as Kurt started getting a bad feeling deep in his stomach.  
  
"I don't know what's going on," Sebastian said and his face held an expression that Kurt couldn't quiet read. "He better not have left."  
  
"Left?" Kurt said in a small voice. "Why... why would he leave?"  
  
Sebastian gave him a look but didn't answer.  
  
"Should we ask at the front desk?" Kurt suggested.  
  
Sebastian nodded and headed that way.  
  
A young man with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail was working the counter. He was looking at some sleazy magazine when Kurt and Sebastian approached him.  
  
"Excuse me," Kurt said and the man looked up lazily. "We are trying to get in touch with the man staying in room 112?"  
  
The guy behind the counter looked back and forth between him and Sebastian, and for a moment Kurt thought he wouldn't help them. But then, he slowly stood up and tapped on a few keys of his computer. "112?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Yeah, that guy's gone."  
  
Kurt's heart plummeted.  
  
"What?" Sebastian asked, obviously surprised.  
  
"Yeah, checked out a day ago. The room’s empty if you two want it." He gave them a suggestive look that made both Kurt and Sebastian grimace.  
  
"No, we were just hoping he was still here," Sebastian said, his voice cold. He didn't ask him any more questions and just left the building.  
  
Kurt turned back to the guy. "Did he say anything or… I don't know…" Kurt trailed off, hoping to get some kind of information. Blaine couldn't just be  _gone_.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. He left a forwarding address and a fat tip," the guy said sarcastically. "Your buddy is gone and he didn't tell you where he was going. Get over it." He then sat back down and started flipping through his dirty magazine again.  
  
Kurt was left stunned, not that the guy working a job he clearly hated was rude to him, but that Kurt had come all this way and missed Blaine  _by a day._  Just a day earlier and he would be with Blaine right now. Kurt spun around and marched to the parking lot where Sebastian was waiting.  
  
"Where is he!" Kurt shouted.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Where would he go? What was the plan?"  
  
"I don't know!" Sebastian yelled and then seemed to deflate. "I don't know. I… I… screwed things up but I didn't think he would just leave."  
  
A cold chill went down Kurt's back. "What did you do?"  
  
"I just… I may have implied that after waiting for him so long you probably had decided to stay in New York and not give up everything for him."  
  
"You…  _what_?" Kurt felt a little sick; surely, Blaine wouldn't ever believe that.  
  
"And then I suggested that he and I…" Sebastian didn't finish his sentence, but just crossed his arms across his chest and looked away. "Let's just say he and I had a disagreement."  
  
"You came on to him," Kurt said, and it wasn't a question. He could picture the whole thing all too clearly  
  
Sebastian shrugged. "I had to try."  
  
"He's gone because of you! He… he could get  _caught_! And I have no way to find him!" Kurt's hands had started to shake and he had to lean against his car for balance.  
  
"I just..." Sebastian looked down to the ground, not meeting Kurt's eyes. "I also suggested that he would be better off if he turned himself in. I had a contact that fell through and I thought… I still think he should just give this up."  
  
Kurt could barely breathe, no no Blaine wouldn't do it, he wouldn't give up and turn himself in. "Sebastian, the Registry people after Blaine are  _intense_ , they are zealots and… they'll make an example of him. What have you done?"  
  
"I'm worried about him too you know," Sebastian said, looking up at him angrily.  
  
Kurt huffed out a laugh and shook his head. "I can't… I can't even be here with you." Kurt wanted to say so much more, but what good would it do? Kurt got in his car and slammed the door, turning on the engine and quickly pulling out of the parking lot.  
  
His heart was thrumming and his head hurt, he knew he was close to having a panic attack and that he should just slow down and breathe, but he couldn't. He couldn't calm down when he had been so close to finding Blaine and lost him again. He just drove; he didn't even really know where he was going. Autopilot took over until he was going down familiar roads and then finally pulled up to a familiar driveway. He stopped the car and looked at the house for a minute before getting out.  
  
He didn't know what he was doing here, but maybe he could just be still for a minute and get his head on straight. He needed a plan. He unlocked the front door with a key from his keychain and then took a long breath as he looked around the house.  
  
It was the Andersons' house. The one he and Blaine and Cooper had left when they went to New York. The lights were out and the furniture left behind covered in sheets. A lump formed in Kurt's throat. This was the place he had fallen in love with Blaine. The home where they'd confessed their feelings for each other. Upstairs was the room they had first made love.  
  
Kurt covered his mouth to try to hold back a sob, but it didn't help. Tears pooled in his eyes and spilled over to his cheeks. His breathing was ragged through his tears. He didn't know what to do. He was about to go farther into the house and maybe collapse in the living room when he heard movement behind him. He turned to see what it was.  
  
"Kurt?" A beautifully familiar voice called and relief washed over Kurt as he looked up the stairway to see Blaine standing at the top.

 


	30. Part Two: XII

After his confrontation with Sebastian, Blaine left the motel and caught a bus back towards Westerville. He had no idea what to do at this point. He wanted to call Kurt, but what would he say? That his plan had fallen through and he didn’t have a clue what to do now? Blaine closed his eyes and rubbed his head. Things looked so hopeless. It had been too long and he knew Kurt would be worried about him. And, if by calling Kurt, he found out that Kurt had decided to stay in New York? Well then, at least he would know.  
  
Blaine hopped off the bus in a familiar part of town and grabbed a baseball cap out of his bag, putting it on and pulling it low over his face; he didn’t need anyone recognizing him. He walked a while until he got to his old house. It was empty and still in his and Cooper’s names, he knew it couldn’t be a long-term hiding spot but right now he just needed a place to crash.  
  
He unlocked the door and went in. It looked exactly like it had when they’d left it. He wandered around downstairs for a while, sheets covered the furniture that they hadn’t moved with them and all the windows were covered in drapes. He would keep things the way they were. It needed to look like he was never here.  
  
He went upstairs to his old room and looked around, tossing his bag on the bed; it was nice, actually, to see this place once more. It was the last place he and Cooper and their parents had been a family. It was the place he’d fallen in love with Kurt. He sat down on his old bed and sighed, feeling weary and anxious. He still didn’t know what he was going to do but for now he was going to rest. He curled up on top of the covers and fell asleep and dreamed of Kurt’s smile and touch and warm laugh.  
  
Blaine ended up deciding to stay in the house for a few days to make a plan. He started by figuring out how much money he had left and wondering if he’d be able to sneak across the border to Canada. Canada’s Lifemate laws were less strict, but that didn’t really matter, because they extradited to the U.S. If he were found out there, he’d be shipped home and still be at the mercy of the United States Lifemate Registry.  
  
What he needed to do was get in touch with Kurt. He had a prepaid cell phone he could use and then ditch, but he needed to be ready to leave Westerville before he did that, just in case the Lifemate Registry was tracking Kurt’s incoming calls.  
  
He was getting antsy just waiting in this house, he had done enough waiting. He needed to take some kind of action. Blaine was upstairs, just having gotten dressed after taking a shower, when he heard what sounded like the front door opening and closing downstairs.  
  
Oh god, they’d found him.  
  
Blaine closed his eyes and steadied himself. If Lifemate officials were already in the house, there was no getting away. He was caught and he would just have to face them. He clenched his jaw and walked to the hallway. He froze at the top of the stairs. Someone was standing in the dimly lit foyer. Blaine gasped, taking in the tall, lithe outline of a person he recognized easily, someone he would recognize anywhere.    
  
Kurt turned around and their eyes met.  
  
“Kurt?” Blaine called, not believing his eyes. Kurt was  _here_ , he was right here in front of him.   
  
Kurt didn’t answer but just stared at him, his mouth covered with a hand. “ _Kurt_ ,” Blaine repeated and started quickly running down the stairs.   
  
Kurt stood planted where he was, watching as Blaine stopped directly in front of him.   
  
“How…” Blaine said, looking Kurt up and down, not believing he was really in front of him. “How are you even here?”   
  
Kurt didn’t answer, but it didn’t matter. Blaine threw his arms around him, holding him close. Kurt was trembling slightly as Blaine buried his face in Kurt’s neck and kissed his skin. “You’re here. You’re here,” Blaine said over and over. “You’re  _here_.”   
  
Kurt finally moved, wrapping his arms around Blaine and leaning his head against Blaine’s. Kurt took a deep shaky breath before he found his voice, which was scratchy with tears. “Blaine I was so s-scared, I didn’t know where -where to find- find you or what to do…”  
  
Blaine hated hearing Kurt so upset, he hated that he had done this to him. He pressed in closer, and they held each other for a moment, needing the assurance that they were together again. Eventually, Kurt backed up to look Blaine in the face. “Don’t you  _ever_  scare me like that again. “   
  
Blaine nodded, feeling guilty even as happy tears ran down his face. “Never again. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Kurt,” he said, his hand coming up to cup his face. “But you shouldn’t be here. If they find us, you’ll be arrested and I… I… have no plan anymore. I have nothing and this is such a huge risk..”    
  
Kurt shook his head and then wrapped his arms around Blaine’s neck. “Blaine, I don’t care about the risk, there has always been risk. I just want us to be together. If we aren’t together, what has all of this been for?”    
  
Blaine’s heart fluttered in his chest as Kurt leaned forward and pressed in for a kiss. He let out a breath of relief as their lips met. The feeling of Kurt’s arms around him and his body pressed against him and his soft lips parting to kiss him deeper, it was exactly what he needed. He was never leaving Kurt’s side again. All of this fear and waiting and torment, all of it was for  _this_ , for Kurt, for the right to be with the man he loved.   
  
Kurt broke the kiss and sighed keeping their faces close. “I thought you’d been caught or that you turned yourself in.”  
  
“I would never turn myself in,” Blaine assured him.   
  
“Sebastian said that…” Kurt cleared his throat. “He thought it was a possibility.”   
  
Blaine narrowed his eyes and the arms around Kurt’s waist tightened a bit. “You’ve seen Sebastian?”   
  
“I was trying to find you. I told you I would only wait so long.”   
  
Blaine smiled. “Yes, you did say that.”   
  
“And you took too long.”   
  
Blaine laughed a little and then leaned his head against Kurt’s. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. Nothing has gone right… and I… I messed it all up and then I started worrying that maybe you would have second thoughts and I mean… What do I even have to offer you? I have no plan. No place for us to be safe, nothing. I was just so-" Blaine didn’t get to finish his rant, though, as Kurt crashed their lips back together.  
  
Blaine moaned and leaned his weight onto Kurt, relishing the kiss.   
  
“Sometimes,” Kurt said, breaking the kiss to speak before kissing him again. “You. Drive. Me. Crazy,” Kurt breathed between kisses.   
  
Blaine smiled and pressed a light kiss to the corner of Kurt’s lips before pulling away. “So we’re still in this together?”  
  
“We always were,” Kurt said seriously.   
  
Blaine blushed a little, feeling foolish about doubting Kurt. “How did you know I was here?”  
  
Kurt shook his head, arms still looped around Blaine like he was afraid to let him go. “I didn’t, this is just where I ended up.”   
  
Blaine closed his eyes and breathed Kurt in; he should have never left him behind in New York, but now that they were together again, he felt like maybe they had a chance. “I love you.”   
  
“I love  _you_ ,” Kurt echoed in a whisper like the words held magic in them.   
  
“So what now?” Blaine asked. “I still have a good amount of cash left, I was thinking of maybe trying for the Canadian border, but I don’t know.”  
  
Kurt smiled and stepped back, his arms dropping from Blaine’s shoulders, but he grabbed his hand instead. “Well your plan might not have worked, but that’s okay, because now it is time for  _my_ plan.”   
  
Blaine lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “God I  _really_  love you.”  
  
Kurt laughed and it looked like the tension in his shoulders was finally falling away.   
  
Blaine hadn’t eaten anything all day and when Kurt heard his stomach growl he insisted they make lunch with some of the provisions Blaine had in his bag. Chili from a can and some crackers, it wasn’t the best meal Blaine had ever had, but it was enough to get them through the day.  
  
“When you didn’t call me  _for over a month,_ ” Kurt said as they ate, “I decided to take things into my own hands and got together with Brittany.  
  
Blaine lifted an eyebrow in surprise.   
  
“You remember how she was when we were talking about Santana. She knew something. So I thought I’d flat out ask her for help.”  
  
“You…” Blaine started and blinked at him. “Wait, are you saying that Brittany is going to help us somehow?”  
  
Kurt smiled and it made Blaine’s heart skip a beat. He was so gorgeous even when he looked smug like he did right now. Actually, especially when he looked smug like he did right now.   
  
“Even better.” Kurt lifted an eyebrow. “I know how to get in touch with Santana.”  
  
Blaine’s eyes grew round. “Your friend Santana who has been missing for months?”   
  
“Not missing. She ran, like you did. But she hasn’t been caught in all this time. Brittany says she can help us get out of the country.”  
  
“Out of the country?” Blaine repeated, the idea settling over him. He had started to feel desperate in the last couple of weeks, but this could mean a chance to actually get away, to start a new life together.   
  
“How?” Blaine asked, his pulse quickening.   
  
“We’ll have to get the information from her,” Kurt said with a bright smile. “But I really think this could happen.”   
  
Blaine looked at Kurt sitting in their old living room, eating canned food and looking happy and hopeful, and Blaine’s heart swelled; he surged forward, leaning over their bowls of chili, to kiss him.   
  
“We could be together, like  _together,_ ” he said as they pulled apart. “Without pretending?”  
  
“I think so,” Kurt said, a sweet smile on his face.   
  
Kurt explained that Santana was going to meet them at a bar in Toledo the next day. They didn’t know if she had been in Ohio all this time, but they would take any lucky breaks they got.  However, they didn’t have to go anywhere right then and they spent the rest of the day packing up things from the house they thought they’d be able to take with them and making sure they had plenty of cash.   
  
Kurt also texted Cooper to let him know everything was okay **.** _Coop! Still enjoying my time in Lima._  He sent.  _Meeting up with old friends._  
  
“Meeting up with old friends?” Blaine asked, reading the text over Kurt’s shoulder as he came up behind Kurt and wrapped his arms around him.   
  
“It is a code we came up with so I could let him know I found you.”   
  
Blaine fought back a chuckle. “A code, Kurt?”  
  
“Hey. Those Registry people are serious, Blaine. I’m actually afraid of what they’d do if they ever got their hands on you.”   
  
Blaine held him a little tighter and nodded; Kurt was right. It didn’t hurt to be careful.   
  
Blaine had been able to say goodbye to Cooper over the phone when Cooper was still in California, but he wished he could have had a goodbye in person. But at least Coop knew that he and Kurt were together.

 _Glad to hear it!!!!!!!_ Cooper texted back and Blaine could picture his excitement perfectly.  _Say hi for me!_  
  
Blaine smiled and hid his face in the crook of Kurt’s neck. He wasn’t going to cry.   
  
Kurt turned in his arms and kissed his temple. “It's going to be okay.”  
  
“I know,” Blaine murmured. Kurt captured his lips in a sweet kiss that quickly became heated. Now that the shock of finding each other again had dissipated and the necessary plans had been made, they had a moment to realize just how much they had missed each other.   
  
It didn’t take long for them to end up upstairs, clothes strewn about and bodies pressed against each other, as they tangled together on the bed, hot skin and wet lips and gasping breaths, the relief of being in each others' arms once again crashing over them.  
  
Kurt slid his hands down Blaine’s body, making him shiver. “I missed you so much,” He breathed into his skin and Blaine groaned in response. He nipped at Kurt’s ear and down his neck until Kurt was a quivering mess beneath him.  
  
“I don’t think we should ever be apart that long again,” Blaine said in a husky voice, and Kurt thrust his hips up making Blaine’s skin heat up and his eyes flutter closed. “I love you I love you I love you.” Blaine panted, determined to do whatever it took to keep them together. He was never saying goodbye to Kurt again.


	31. Part Two: XIII

Kurt and Blaine stayed in their old house that night up in Blaine's room, which had pretty much become Blaine and Kurt's room before they moved to New York. Kurt snuggled in as close to Blaine as possible, not wanting even an inch between them, even tangling their legs together. Blaine was usually the cuddler, but after being separated for so long and thinking he might not find Blaine, Kurt just wanted to hold him for a while.   
  
They were exhausted and almost asleep, naked and still a little blissed-out from their reunion, but Kurt still couldn't sleep. He traced a finger down Blaine's cheek and watched his profile as he smiled. Blaine's eyes were closed but he hummed softly as Kurt traced patterns over his skin.  
  
"Are you going to miss this house?" Kurt asked.  
  
"You asked me the same thing before we moved to New York."  
  
"I know, but then at least you knew you could always come back here."  
  
Blaine turned his face and opened his eyes to look at Kurt. "We are both giving up a lot for this," he said softly. "But it's okay, I feel good. I'm with you."  
  
Kurt smiled and felt his cheeks and the tips of his ears blush and he leaned his forehead against Blaine's. "I feel the same way you know. New York isn't my dream anymore, not without you. None of it matters if you aren't there with me. We'll find new dreams together."  
  
Blaine nodded, looking at him intently. "Did you get to say goodbye to Burt and Carol?"  
  
"Yes. They... they get it, Blaine. So does Cooper."  
  
"Good," Blaine replied, his eyes glittering as he looked at Kurt.  
  
"No matter what happens when we meet with Santana tomorrow, or what happens after that, I am always going to love you," Kurt said, his fingertips brushing over Blaine's temple.  
  
"Always," Blaine said sleepily as his eyelids started to droop. When they finally closed, Kurt pressed soft kisses to them and then fell asleep himself.  
  
The next day saw Kurt and Blaine saying a final goodbye to the house Blaine grew up in. Kurt held Blaine's hand and watched him closely, hoping he was as alright as he said he was. Blaine just smiled at him and squeezed his hand. They climbed in to Kurt's car and headed out for the over two-hour drive to Toledo to meet Santana and hopefully find out what was in store for their future.  
  
They got to Toledo early and spent some time driving around the city before it was time to go to the address Santana had given Brittany to give to Kurt. Kurt's stomach was in knots. He hoped that this was all going to turn out okay. That the Lifemate Registry wasn't just waiting for this chance to nab all three of them together. Not only would that mean prison for them all and separation from Blaine, but Kurt wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he got Santana in trouble too.  
  
The address ended up being a sordid looking bar on the outskirts of town. Kurt pulled the old beat up Ford they were driving into the parking lot and turned to look at Blaine.  
  
Blaine was squinting out the window and the building, a hesitant look on his face. "This is where Santana wanted to meet?" He said slowly, "It looks…"  
  
"Awful?" Kurt finished for him and Blaine only took a deep breath in reply.  
  
"Santana is… unpredictable, but I trust her and if she thinks this place is safe then…"  
  
"We don't really have much of a choice anyway do we?" Blaine asked, turning towards him.  
  
Kurt bit his lip. "Not really."  
  
"Okay then." Blaine hopped out of the car and hurried around to the other side to open the door for Kurt before Kurt even had a chance to really convince himself this was a good idea.  
  
"Just… stay with me okay?" Kurt said. "I'm not losing you in a skuzzy looking bar like this."  
  
"Don't worry," Blaine said, sounding a little nervous and holding Kurt's hand while rubbing his thumb across it. "I'm staying glued to you."  
  
They walked into the bar, it was old and smelled like grease and alcohol; it was fairly busy though, mostly middle-aged men and women, but some younger people too. Leaning against bars and shooting pool. Kurt scanned the area quickly until he saw a dark haired woman sitting in the back tapping her bright red fingernails against a beer bottle.  
  
Santana.  
  
Kurt couldn't help but smile at the sight of her as he pulled Blaine along with him and they approached her table. She arched an eyebrow as they drew close. "Well there's my favorite porcelain doll and his little hobbit friend." She kicked a chair out with her foot under the table but Kurt ignored it and instead leaned down to give her a hug. It was awkward at first with Santana still sitting stiffly in her chair, but then she groaned and stood, loosening up a little and hugging him back. Kurt smiled as they pulled apart and sat down next to Blaine across the table from her.  
  
"Santana." Kurt smiled brightly. "It is so good to see you."  
  
"Maria," Santana answered and took a swig of her beer. She set the bottle back down and reached out a hand. "Maria Rodriguez." She shook Kurt’s and then Blaine's hand in turn. "I know, I know, not super original, but hey, you know how many Maria Rodriguezes there are? It helps."  
  
Kurt nodded. "Maria. Got it." Kurt took a deep breath and looked around the bar, leaning in a little. "Nice place you found here."  
  
Santana quirked a smile, the first one Kurt had seen since they entered the bar.  
  
"It's a dive. It's worse that a dive, but it is enough off the beaten track to be a good meeting place, especially since the two of you are still stuck state side and have the hounds of the Lifemate Registry sniffing after you... God, Hummel, do you even know the mess you're in?"  
  
Kurt swallowed nervously and felt Blaine reach for his hand under the table.  
  
"I mean you married a freakin' movie star for crying out loud." Santana continued, "And now you expect to just disappear? So glad you came to me with this," she said and rolled her eyes.  
  
Kurt was quiet for a moment taking in Santana's words. "You don't have to help us. You didn't have to tell Brittany you'd meet us."  
  
Santana sat up and folded her hands on the table. "Let me tell you how it is, Snow White," she said, holding up a finger. "One, you try saying no to Brittany when she is begging you for something. It is even harder than saying no when she's ordering you around in the bedroom."  
  
Kurt flushed at that mental image and Blaine's eyebrows shot up.  
  
Santana held up a second finger. "Two. I also have a hard time turning down an opportunity to fuck with the Lifemate Registry and the damn fucked-up government as a whole. And three." She held up a third finger and leaned back in her chair. "We used to be friends once. You stood up for me in high school when we were the only out teenagers in that hellhole. I guess I owe you one."  
  
Kurt smiled a little, but felt guilty. "I wasn't much of a friend after you were paired. I'm sorry about that."  
  
Santana shrugged. "I was a raging bitch after I was paired. I think I almost drove Mark to an early grave."  
  
"Mark," Blaine spoke up for the first time. "Your husband, right?"  
  
"No. He is my Lifemate, there's a difference."  
  
She sounded like Brittany now.  
  
"Okay." Blaine nodded along. "If you don't mind me asking... what happened with Mark? I mean, not what happened between you two," Blaine amended quickly, "but what happened to Mark when you… left?"  
  
Santana narrowed her eyes. "Why do you care?"  
  
"Because the Lifemate left behind in our situation is my big brother."  
  
Santana's face softened a little bit and she sighed. Kurt gave Blaine a sympathetic look, not liking the worry lining his face.  
  
"Mark is fine," she answered. "The Registry investigated him for a while, but he made a good show of being happy to be rid of his shrew and not knowing what happened." She smiled. "He can be really devious. Your brother should be fine. It is you two they are going to come after hard."  
  
"What do we do Santana?" Kurt asked, feeling his nerves growing.  
  
"You two sure about this? I mean you are really stupidly in love right?"  
  
Kurt looked over at Blaine and squeezed his hand.  
  
"Yes," Blaine answered. "Incredibly, stupidly in love."  
  
"Fine." Santana smirked at them. "I know I didn't get to talk to you much last year at Finn's memorial, but even then I wondered if there was something going on between you two.” She took a sip of her beer. “Wanky."  
  
Blaine groaned and held his head in his hand.  
  
Kurt just shook his head and laughed. "We have never been subtle have we?"  
  
"No," Santana said. "So now you two lovebirds want to run off into the sunset together? Well Auntie Snix is here is help you. It is going to cost you though. Not me, but I have a guy."  
  
"A guy?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Yeah, Maria Rodriguez isn't just an alias, it's who I am now. Birth certificate, I.D., passport, Social Identification Number. The works. At a minimum, it is going to be what you both need to get out of the states. I think you'll both be good Canadians."  
  
"So… we are moving to Canada?"  
  
"Nope." Santana sighed. "That's where I am for now I'm… I'm waiting…" She looked away for a moment and for a split second her face looked sad before she cleared her throat and looked down to play with her half full beer bottle. "I'm waiting to see if Brittany decides to join me or not." She looked back up. "You two, though, you are going to be Canadians living abroad. You need to go somewhere they don't expedite Lifemate offenders to the United States."  
  
"Okay," Kurt said and Blaine nodded. "Where are you thinking?"  
  
Santana smirked. "How's your French, Hummel?"  
  
Kurt grinned. "Mon français est impeccable."  
  
Blaine groaned. "Great. I took Spanish and German."  
  
"Well, you'll learn fast. You'll have to," Santana said. "France is one of the countries with the least severe Lifemate laws. Plus, with your new identities, my guy will make it so that you two were matched with each other when you lived in Canada. As far as anyone will know you'll be legally together."  
  
Kurt could feel his throat start to clog with tears as his eyes got watery. He would be Blaine's Lifemate; they would be each other's, they wouldn't have to hide how they felt any longer. Kurt glanced over at Blaine who looked overwhelmed.  
  
"I… wow," Blaine said and blinked. "Who is this guy you know?"  
  
"An old associate of Mark's actually. Mark is, for all intents and purposes, an upstanding, law abiding business man," Santana said, "but that's bullshit, he is a con man. I mean if I weren't I love with Brit and he didn't have a dick I think we might have actually worked out."  
  
"So your husb- your Lifemate helped you escape?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Yeah, I mean he didn't want to be paired with someone who couldn't want him. Did you know that if I am missing long enough, the Registry declares me dead and he could end up with a new Lifemate? He liked that idea." She turned to Blaine. "Same with whomever you were paired with Bilbo, especially since you two never married. He'll get a new match one day. Cooper may, but probably not, seeing as he is older."  
  
"Meanwhile we'll be in France living as Lifemates?" Blaine said with awe in his voice.  
  
"That's the plan. We have to get you out of the States first though." Santana finished her beer and the stood.  
  
"Wait. You're leaving?" Kurt asked.  
  
"We all are. Let's get this show on the road."  
  
"Right now?"  
  
"No, let's wait till the Registry mutts catch up with you. Yes now."  
  
Kurt glanced at Blaine and then they both got up and followed Santana out. This was it. She got into a pick-up and they followed behind in the Ford. She didn't say where they were going, but it didn't matter, they had their suitcases and everything with them.  
  
It didn't take long for Kurt to recognize that they seemed to be heading to Detroit, Michigan, which was only about an hour’s drive away. From there they were so close to Canada, but still needed a way in.  
  
Santana pulled up to an old, but well kept, apartment building in downtown Detroit and parked her pick-up. Kurt followed suit, his stomach a jumble of nerves.  
  
"Hey," Blaine said, reaching for his hand, "Its okay, we are close to the finish line here." He lifted Kurt's fingers and kissed the ring he gave him. "We're going to be together."  
  
Kurt nodded, a lump forming in his throat, as he got out of the car. Santana walked up to them. "Okay lover boys," she said, "I'm here to act as an introduction. He'll help you out and give you a place to lay low for a little while."  
  
"Who? Who will help us out? And why are we laying low for a while?" Kurt asked anxiously.  
  
"He can't just get the papers you need overnight now can he? He'll get some pictures of the two of you and work on it. His name is Tony. He won't ask you many questions and you shouldn't ask him much either. He doesn't care if you are running from the Registry or from the law. He’s helped sketchier characters than you. Just, do what he says. Okay?"  
  
Blaine nodded nervously.  
  
"Right. Don't ask questions. Do what he says," Kurt said as they followed her to the building. She punched in the security code and led them to an apartment on the ground floor. She knocked on the door and an older man answered. He took a look at Santana and smiled before opening the door wider and letting them all in.  
  
"Welcome back Maria," he said, shaking her hand and then turning to face Kurt and Blaine. Kurt kept Blaine's hand in his own to comfort himself as much as to encourage Blaine.  
  
"Ah, you are the friends of Maria? The Canadians right?" He said with a wink. "I'm Tony. Just Tony." Tony was probably in his 50s; he had dark hair with no signs of gray (Kurt suspected he dyed it) and a thick dark mustache to match. His apartment was small, but meticulously tidy and the furniture looked more expensive than you would have guessed for someone who lived in this building.  
  
"Have you eaten?" Tony asked Santana. "I have some leftovers if you want something."  
  
"Actually, Tony, I'm just here to make sure you take good care of my friends and vice versa," Santana said, "and then I need to be heading out."  
  
"What?" Kurt said, turning to her. "You're... you're leaving?"  
  
"Staying in the States isn't safe for me."  
  
"We'll make this quick then," Tony said. "First, let's discuss what you need. I'm assuming it is a complete identity make-over like our Maria here. Names, birth certificates, the works?"  
  
"Yes. That's right," Blaine answered. Kurt was feeling a little overwhelmed by the fact that Santana was about to leave when he just got to reunite with her again. He didn’t know if he’d see her again after this.  
  
"And you two need to be matched as Lifemates in your identities, right?"  
  
"Definitely," Blaine answered.  
  
Blaine and Tony talked fees for a little bit and the price was hefty. They had the money, but it was going to take a big chunk out of their stash and this was all they had to start their new lives. Of course, the money did them no good if they were stuck state side.  
  
Next, Tony took them to a backroom where he had a mini photo studio set up. He took pictures for their new I.D.s and passports.  
  
"I should have it all ready for you in a couple of days. Until then I have the cellar set up for you."  
  
"The cellar?" Kurt asked, glancing at Santana.  
  
"Don't worry, it isn't that bad," Santana said. "I stayed there for a little while myself."  
  
"You'll have to stay there the whole time, no coming out. Not until things are ready," Tony added.  
  
Kurt nodded and Blaine agreed as well. Then, it was time to say goodbye to Santana; he wished she could stay a little longer, but he didn't want her in any more danger than she'd already risked just by coming here.  
  
"Do you think we'll ever see each other again?" Kurt asked.  
  
Santana shrugged. "I don't know Casper. I guess it depends on what Brittany decides. I can see us liking France." She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek and one for Blaine too, leaving a red press of lipstick on their skin before she left.  
  
Kurt turned to Blaine, feeling a little stunned. His life had changed dramatically just in a matter of 48 hours. Blaine smiled tentatively back at him. And just like that, Kurt and Blaine were standing in a random apartment in Detroit with a perfect stranger who had their lives and futures in his hands.


	32. Part Two: XIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Anyone out there reading. :) I just wanted to give you the heads up that after this chapter we have one more chapter and the epilogue. I always like to know when a fic is almost over. Also, if you wanna leave me a comment I promise it would make me smile. 
> 
> And again HUGE thanks to Oleanna who has improved this fic greatly.

 

After Santana left, Tony went over things with them. Blaine listened intently to Tony’s rules and the plan he laid out, trying to find any weaknesses or points that put Kurt at unnecessary risk. He could tell by the way Kurt sat on the couch rim-rod straight, his eyes narrowing when Tony got to a questionable spot in the plan, that he was doing the same thing.   
  
“Okay, so when we get to the airport with our new passports and everything, you think it is better if we go through security separately?” Kurt asked. “Why? And is it more dangerous to go first or second?”  
  
Blaine held back a smile, realizing their biggest weakness was probably their inclination for putting themselves at risk in order to protect each other.   
  
Tony sighed, apparently seeing that problem as well. “Honestly you’d be safest leaving the country on different days from different airports,” he said. “The Registry is looking for you, right Blaine?”  
  
Blaine nodded.   
  
“So if you are apprehended at the airport and Kurt is with you then. Bam! They have you both.”   
  
Kurt held Blaine’s hand tightly.  “We aren’t splitting up,” Kurt said.   
  
“That’s the other thing,” Tony continued. “Kurt, you’re ‘visiting family in Lima’, but the Lifemate Registry isn’t dumb, they’ll be looking for you two together  _as a couple_. If you would just fly out separately-“  
  
“We aren’t splitting up,” Kurt repeated. “If one of us got away but the other one got caught none of this is worth anything. We’re paying you a lot of money here, Tony, can you get us out together or not?”   
  
Tony looked back and forth between them sternly before shaking his head in resignation. “Fine. But you still have to go through security separately, just put a few people between you in line, that’s all I’m asking.”   
  
Blaine nodded. “Okay.”   
  
Kurt looked at him sharply before sighing. “Yeah, okay.”  
  
“With Santana, we just had to get her into Canada and no one was looking for her yet. You two, though… the only thing you have going for you at this point is that Blaine has been missing so long they may think he’s already left the country. I say we skip Canada altogether and try to get you on a plane to France. Once there, the U.S. Lifemate Registry can’t touch you.”  
  
Both Kurt and Blaine agreed as Tony outlined the plan. Afterwards, he led them down to where they’d stay for the next couple of days while he got their paperwork ready. “The cellar” was exactly that; Tony brought them to the building’s basement. It was dirty and old and smelled of mildew. There was a line of shelves in the back that Tony walked to and then pulled aside. They were easier to move than they looked. Behind them was a hidden door.   
  
Blaine was relived, if there was another room behind that wall, it had to be nicer and less depressing than the rest of the basement.   
  
It wasn’t much better. The room was small with cement floors, ceiling and walls. There was a florescent lamp on the ceiling, a small sofa that had seen much better days, a mini fridge, a hot plate and microwave. One little corner was sectioned off with a toilet and shower, and lastly, a twin bed pushed against a wall looking old and uncomfortable.   
  
Kurt looked around and then turned to Tony.   
  
“It isn’t much. I know,” Tony said.   
  
“It’s fine.” Kurt glanced around again. “It’s all we need.”   
  
Tony told them they would have to stay here until things were set up, the mini fridge was full and he’d check on them to see what else they needed, and then he left. Blaine opened the fridge to find turkey, cheese, mustard, some fruit and milk. The counter with the hot plate and microwave had some plates, bowls and a pot and pan as well as cereal, bread and some canned soups. It wasn’t much.   
  
Blaine looked around the room, the overhead light making the whole place seem a little sickly green. He walked over to the bed and plopped down, scooting back to lean his back on the wall. The bed creaked and groaned.   
  
“Ahhhh, paradise.” He winked, and Kurt, who had been watching him, smiled and sat down on the bed next to him, leaning his head on Blaine’s shoulder and tangling their fingers together.  
  
“Four star accommodations for sure,” Kurt said, playing with their slotted-together fingers.   
  
“But after this, we leave for France.”  
  
Kurt looked up at him. “How do you feel about that?”  
  
“Running away to France with the man I love? Oh, I feel pretty damn good about that.”   
  
Kurt’s face broke out into a wide grin. “I can teach you French. Maybe we can get a little apartment in a big city or a cottage out in the countryside. It isn’t New York, but it actually sounds…” Kurt sighed, “really nice.”   
  
“Wherever we are, we will be together and won’t have to pretend to  _not_  be with each other,” Blaine said. “I can’t… I wouldn’t care where we lived if it meant I got to walk down the street hand in hand with you and kiss you whenever and wherever I wanted.”   
  
Kurt laughed and gave him a little nudge. ”That sounded dirty.”  
  
“Mmmmm, maybe it was.”   
  
“Two days,” Kurt said, looking back down at their hands. Then he sat up from Blaine’s shoulder abruptly.  
  
“What is it?”  
  
Kurt shook his head and then slid his wedding ring, the one that said he was married to Cooper, off his finger. Then, he took Blaine’s ring and put it on the ring finger of his left hand. He held it up for a moment, looking at it. Blaine just watched his face, happy and open.   
  
“That feels much better,” Kurt said with a smile.   
  
Blaine switched his ring to his left hand as well and held it up next to Kurt’s. “It feels right.”   
  
The two days that Tony had promised became three and then four. On the afternoon of the fourth day, Blaine asked Tony if he could make a phone call.   
  
“I was hoping that once Kurt and I got to France, we’d be able to somehow reach out to our families and let them know we were safe. If we need to stay here any longer, couldn’t we somehow just… I don’t know, let them know we’re okay?”  
  
Tony didn’t like it, but he eventually got them a prepaid phone that would be hard to trace. “You have one phone call and three minutes,” he told them.  
  
“Call Cooper. He can get in touch with my dad,” Kurt said and Blaine kissed him.   
  
“Thank you.”   
  
Cooper answered on the first ring.   
  
“Hello?”  
  
“Coop?”  
  
“Oh my god. Squirt!”  
  
Blaine smiled. “Listen I can’t talk long and I don’t know what I can say…”  
  
“No one is listening in,” Cooper said. “If that’s what you’re worried about. I can’t stop them from getting the phone records, but they can’t hear our conversation. I know a guy,” he said proudly and Blaine’s heart ached with how much he missed his brother.  
  
“Good, I… I just wanted to let you know that I’m okay. And Kurt. We’re okay.”   
  
“Thank god. And you’re… somewhere safe?”  
  
“We’re working on it,” Blaine said, glancing at Kurt who was watching him. “We’re going to France.”  
  
“France? No way?” Cooper said. “Blaine, their Lifemate laws are much better.”  
  
“We’re going over as a matched couple too.”   
  
“Oh god Squirt. I’m so happy for you.” Blaine could hear the excitement in Cooper’s voice. They talked a little longer, Cooper wanted to know more about their plan, but too soon Kurt was giving him the signal to wrap things up. It had been three minutes.   
  
“You’ll make sure the Hudson-Hummels know we’re alright?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“Thanks Coop.”   
  
“I love you Squirt. And Kurt too, tell him.”   
  
“We love you too Cooper.” Blaine said looking at Kurt and smiling.   
  
Once Blaine hung up, he felt relieved. He could go to France now feeling much better, even though he hadn’t been able to say goodbye in person, knowing that Cooper knew they were okay.  
  
Tony had promised the next day was “The Day”. He came down to the cellar that evening with a manila envelope in his hands.   
  
“Well, are you ready to start your new lives?” He asked, and Kurt and Blaine both hopped up from the couch where they’d been sitting.   
  
Tony handed them the envelope. Kurt opened it and Blaine saw his hands shaking a little. He pulled out everything that Tony had promised. Canadian issued passports, birth certificates, I.D., SIN card, Visas. Kurt smiled as he looked at Blaine’s papers before handing them to him.   
  
“Michael Armstrong,” he read and looked at Blaine. “You don’t seem like a Michael, but I can get use to it.”  
  
“Who are you?” Blaine asked.   
  
“Alex Bower.”   
  
“That sounds like a spy name. Bower. Alex Bower.”    
  
Kurt laughed a little nervously. Blaine understood the nerves, this was it; with their papers here, it made it all real. Tomorrow, they’d be leaving the country and maybe to never return. They would have new names and new lives. Blaine looked over at Kurt’s passport. Michael and Alex. This just needed to work.

* * *

Kurt barely slept that night. He and Blaine were squished close on the twin bed together and Kurt couldn’t turn his brain off. By this time tomorrow, either they would be safe in France starting their new lives, or they’d be caught. He burrowed closer into Blaine’s warmth. They couldn’t come this far only to be caught at an airport in Detroit.  
  
They got up early the next morning and neither of them felt like eating. Tony came down with some coffee for them both. It wasn’t good. Kurt drank it anyway, it was warm and had caffeine and that was enough for a morning like this.   
  
Tony gave them each a prepaid phone. “These are for emergency use  _only_ ; ditch them after you’ve used them once. And whatever happens, just don’t get me messed up with the Registry, got it?”  
  
Both Kurt and Blaine agreed. Tony called them a cab and gave them their tickets. “Just act normal,” he instructed. “Don’t be overly friendly, or look at the security guards too much. But don’t avoid eye contact either. You are just two Lifemates going on an extended trip to France. Nothing to worry about.”   
  
Kurt’s stomach was doing nervous somersaults, but he nodded and took the ticket from Tony.   
  
They got into the cab and kept quiet on the drive to the airport. What was left to say? Blaine reached over and took Kurt’s hand, holding it all the way to the airport doors before letting go.   
  
They got in line and checked their bags before Kurt turned to Blaine. “I go first,” he said, repeating Tony’s plan. “Once you see that I’ve made it through security you go… and then… and then we just wait for our flight.”  
  
Blaine nodded and smiled but his eyes looked worried. He leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to Kurt’s lips. Kurt kissed him back briefly, wanting more but knowing they shouldn’t draw attention to themselves. “See you on the other side,” Kurt said.   
  
Blaine cleared his throat. “See you.”   
  
Kurt clenched the handle of his carry on and got in line. The security moved quickly; Kurt glanced back to see that Blaine was about 5 or 6 people behind him. Kurt got up to the security worker.   
  
“Hello,” Kurt said with a smile and the woman behind the stand just held out her hand.   
  
“Ticket and identification,” She said – Kurt reached for his new passport.   
  
It should have been fine, he should have given her his passport and ticket and gotten through, but he didn’t even get the chance to try.   
  
“Hey!” Someone shouted and Kurt looked over to see an armed security worker coming towards them. “Detain that man!” He said, pointing at Kurt and looking at the security worker in front of him.   
  
Kurt’s stomach plummeted, and it took everything in him not to look back at Blaine. But if Blaine had a chance to get out, he didn’t want to give him away.   
  
“I’m sorry is there a problem?” Kurt asked, trying to keep his voice calm.   
  
“There is an APB out for this guy,” the security guard said. “I just saw his picture up in the break room. You’re Kurt Hummel.”   
  
Kurt slipped his fake passport in his pocket.   
  
“I… I…” He looked back and forth between the guard and the woman. There was nothing he could do. In moments Kurt was pulled out of line and his arms were pressed behind him. A couple other guards joined them and Kurt was put into cuffs.   
  
Panic was rising in his throat and Kurt wanted to cry, they had been  _so close_. He was shaking from head to toe as the security guards took him away from the gaping crowd.  _Run Blaine, run_.  _Get out._ Was all that Kurt could even think as they led him to the closed off back room used to detain security risks.

* * *

Blaine watched in horror as a security started shouting about Kurt. He stood frozen as Kurt’s real name came from the guard’s lips. Then it got worse as more security guards surrounded and cuffed Kurt.  _No. No no no no no!_  Not Kurt, Kurt was supposed to get through fine. It was Blaine that ran from his letter. Blaine that was missing. This couldn’t be happening. 

  
He watched as the guards led Kurt back, he longed to go after Kurt or at least make eye-contact with him, but Kurt didn’t look back once. Blaine was nudged by the person behind him and he realized the line was moving again.   
  
Kurt was out of sight with Blaine left behind feeling as if he was being torn apart. What should he do? Go through the line? There was no way in hell he was leaving for France without Kurt.   
  
“Excuse me,” he said to the person behind him, his voice unsteady as he worked his way out of the line and back to the front of the airport. What now? Did he just wait? Wait for the Lifemate Registry to come for Kurt, to come for him? Or did he run, try to get away? But what would he do if he got away without Kurt?   
  
He collapsed in a chair and covered his face with trembling hands. Kurt had said it himself, if one of them got away and the other one got caught, none of this is worth anything.


	33. Part Two: XV

Kurt was led to a small holding room with hard uncomfortable chairs, a metal and vinyl table, and a clock on the wall that seemed to tick ridiculously loud. Kurt felt it was almost at loud as the beating of his own heart.  
  
His throat was tight and his eyes stung but he was determined not to cry. He was thinking back to what he knew about sentences for running away from your Lifemate, but sentencing was so subjective. He knew if someone like Hilda got her way it would mean extensive time in prison. Kurt shivered. Either way he'd probably be locked up for a few years.  
  
In the end though, no matter what, his chances of getting away with Blaine had just become nil. He wondered if they had grabbed Blaine too; maybe he was sitting in a similar room with his hands cuffed behind him. Or maybe he got away. Kurt closed his eyes and let out a long breath. He hoped Blaine got away. At least if Blaine was okay then maybe this wouldn't all seem like such a waste.  
  
They left him alone in the room and he knew he was locked in. Not that he could just escape anyway. His hands were cuffed and he was back in airport security. He wondered if Hilda or Addison would come when they called the Registry. Kurt swallowed down his fear at that thought. No, it would probably be someone new, someone from the Detroit office.  
  
Kurt tried to steady his breathing, but he couldn't calm himself down. This was everything he and Blaine had been trying so hard to avoid. In a matter of moments, all of his hopes and dreams had been snatched away. What if they never even let him see Blaine again? Kurt felt nauseated and doubled over in the chair a little.  
  
Kurt started watching the clock. He'd only been here for 15 minutes, but it seemed like hours. He sat up straighter, hearing some kind of commotion from outside the door. Was that yelling? Kurt listened more closely. Yes, it sounded like yelling and other voices trying to calm whoever was shouting. Kurt smiled and shook his head, it almost sounded like Cooper. That was impossible of course… except… it sounded _distinctly_ like Cooper.  
  
"I don't care what your policies are! You cannot tell me I'm not allowed to see my own husband!"  
  
_Oh my god, it was Cooper.  
  
_ Kurt didn't have time to process how that was even possible before Cooper came bursting into the room, security guards behind him.  
  
"Cooper?" Kurt squeaked out, looking between him and the confused faces of the airport security.  
  
"Kurt! They have you in cuffs?" He rounded on the nearest guard. "Uncuff him right now," he said, pointing a finger at the man's chest. "What's wrong with you? You detain a man and cuff him just because he is trying to go on a trip with his  _famous_  husband?"  
  
Kurt just sat quietly, clamping his mouth closed when he realized it had been hanging open in shock.  
  
"Sir, I'm sorry, but he is being detained for the Lifemate Registry, there is an APB out on him and-"  
  
The guard didn't get to finish as Cooper starting talking over him and gesturing wildly. "Are you kidding? That APB was rescinded; it was a mistake to begin with. This has been a giant fuck-up from the start. My husband and I are trying to leave for a quiet get-away to be rid of the mess that the Registry is making about my brother who is missing.” Cooper took a deep breath as if trying to calm himself down. “The APB was put out when they saw Kurt was making plans to travel and they didn't even check to see that we are traveling _together_. Now, uncuff. My. Husband."  
  
Kurt had never seen Cooper be so frightening and intimidating. There was a beat where no one did anything, but then the guard was helping Kurt stand and uncuffing his wrists. Kurt rubbed them and decided to stay silent; he didn't want anything he said to mess up Cooper's plan. Whatever it was.  
  
"Thank you," Cooper said curtly and took Kurt's elbow and started leading him out of the room.  
  
"Whoa, wait," a guard said. "I'm sorry, but you can't leave, we still have to wait for the Lifemate Registry Officials to get here."  
  
Cooper laughed. "Why? We haven't done anything wrong. Do you know who I am? Do you want me to tell the media how helpful you were or how you ruined our vacation? Now unless you are arresting us, we are leaving."  
  
Cooper stormed out of the room with Kurt in tow. Kurt's heart was racing; he couldn't believe this was actually working. He was waiting for the guards to stop them at any minute, but they didn't. Cooper just marched them right out of the airport.  
  
" _Cooper_ ," Kurt said under his breath. "What about Blaine?"  
  
Cooper looked at him with wide-eyes and for the first time since he barged in Cooper looked a little worried.  
  
"Just keep moving, Kurt."  
  
Kurt did what Cooper instructed, but mostly because he was still a little in shock and had no idea what was going on. They kept moving until they got to the airport parking garage where Cooper finally stopped and let go of Kurt's arm.  
  
"Oh my god. That worked!" Cooper said and started laughing so hard he doubled over himself.  
  
"Cooper, what's happening? How are you here?"  
  
"Blaine told me on the phone yesterday what you were going to try," Cooper said, standing up straight again and wiping at his eyes. "And I couldn't help but think that it wasn't going to work. The more I thought about it, I knew I should be here so I got in the car and drove. And when I got to the airport I saw them drag you out of line and… well I didn't have a plan really, I just started yelling and pointing, because that usually gets people’s attention. "  
  
"I… don't know what to say." Kurt was stunned. So instead of saying anything he just launched forward and gave Cooper a hug.  
  
"What now though?" He said after a moment, backing up and looking Cooper in the face. "Where's Blaine?"  
  
"Where's Blaine?" Cooper repeated. " _Where's Blaine_? How do I know? I thought you knew!" He threw his hands in the air and looked on the verge of panic.  
  
"He was behind me in line, Cooper, didn't you see him?"  
  
"No! Just you! And then I was focused on getting back to where you were…"  
  
Kurt started to feel a little dizzy, his palms clammy. What if security had detained Blaine, too, and he and Cooper had just walked out of there without him? Kurt was about to insist they go back when he remembered the phones Tony had given them. He quickly pulled his out of his bag and called the one given to Blaine. 

* * *

Blaine finally forced himself to get up off the chair he'd collapsed into and started making his way out of the airport. He should have gone after Kurt when they took him, it had been his first thought at the time, but what good would it have done. At least while Blaine was still free maybe he could do something to help Kurt.

  
He needed to think, he needed a plan. Should he call Tony? No, Tony didn't want any trouble with the Registry. He should call Cooper then. Kurt was still his husband; maybe with Cooper’s influence Kurt would be able to make bail? It didn't seem likely.  
  
Blaine stopped and pressed a hand against a wall, feeling light headed. He'd lost Kurt. The Registry had him and Blaine was still on the run. He thought back to the ugly cold cellar he and Kurt had stayed in over the past week; that dank little room seemed precious now, were those his last days with Kurt? Was it really all over now?  
  
His phone rang and Blaine jumped, forgetting he even had it on him. Who in the world would be calling him on this phone?  
  
"Hello?" Blaine answered.  
  
"Blaine! Oh thank god." Kurt's sweet voice came through the speaker and Blaine's heart leapt.  
  
"Kurt? Where are you? Why are they letting you call me?"  
  
"I'm in the airport parking lot. I… Blaine you have to get here fast. They don't have you, do they?"  
  
Blaine didn't understand, how did Kurt end up in the parking lot? Were they transporting him somewhere?  
  
"The parking lot?" Blaine repeated, brain slow to process the information.  
  
"Blaine, you haven't been caught, right?"  
  
"No. No. I'm fine. I'm still in the airport," Blaine answered  
  
"Come find me," Kurt said, his voice sounded frantic. "We could still get out of here. Level 4 section G."  
  
Blaine had already started moving towards the exit, his feet couldn't take him to Kurt fast enough. "I'm already on my way."  
  
Blaine rushed to the garage and didn't even wait for the elevator but sprinted up the stairs to level 4. He looked around until he found G and there he was – Kurt was standing in the garage without any guards or cuffs or anything and with… Cooper? Blaine rushed to Kurt and caught him tightly in his arms even as he gave Cooper a bewildered look.  
  
"How… what… what's going on?" Blaine said, looking at his brother but still holding Kurt.  
  
"Cooper stormed into security and dragged me out," Kurt answered, arms looped around Blaine while Blaine just glanced back and forth between Kurt and Cooper.  
  
"I don't understand," Blaine said, his mouth feeling dry.  
  
Cooper clapped Blaine on the back. "Well let me explain." He smiled. "I saved the day!"  
  
Blaine stared at him for a moment. "But how?"  
  
"He just burst in saying they were ruining our vacation. Like Cooper and I were going somewhere together and then he said if they weren't arresting us we were leaving and… _we just left_ ," Kurt explained, looking as stunned as Blaine felt.  
  
Blaine shook his head and felt ready to cry or laugh. He leaned his head against Kurt's, he honestly hadn't known when he was ever going to see Kurt again and now he was right here. "Now what?" He hung on to Kurt, having no idea what was going to happen next.  
  
"I don't know," Kurt said, and for a moment Blaine didn't care. He held Kurt's face with his hands and kissed him, bringing their bodies close as Kurt leaned in towards him.  
  
"Now we get out of here," Cooper said, tugging on Kurt's hand and pulling them apart, "before they realize what happened."  
  
Cooper opened the door to the SUV and Kurt and Blaine climbed in the back. Cooper hopped up front and drove them away from the airport, a tense silence in the vehicle. Finally, once they were several miles away, he pulled off at a rest stop and turned in his seat to look at Kurt and Blaine.  
  
"I have no idea what to do next. I'm kind of just making this up."  
  
Blaine licked his lips and knew he must look a little shaken by the way Kurt lifted a hand to softly rub the hair at the nape of his neck. "We could try the border," Blaine suggested. "Getting into Canada doesn't solve everything, but it's a start."  
  
Kurt shook his head. "How? They have pictures of me up. And if my picture is out there, then you know yours is too. We won't get across."  
  
Blaine's heart sunk.  
  
"Listen, Kurt isn't missing; the Lifemate Registry is just being an ass having his picture out there like that," Cooper said. "No one has reported him gone. As far as they know, he really could just be visiting his family in Lima. I say, Kurt and I go to France together on vacation and then… I don't know, Blaine… you could… Who helped you get this far? Could they smuggle you into Canada?"  
  
Blaine was considering the idea; could Cooper really get Kurt out of the country? It would be somewhere to begin, and even if Blaine couldn’t find a way out, it would mean Kurt was safe.  
  
" _No_ ," Kurt said, interrupting Blaine's thoughts. "I'm not leaving without Blaine. We tried the whole do this separately thing and I hate it. Besides, there is no way the Registry is letting me out of the country, officially missing or not."  
  
Blaine groaned, knowing Kurt was right; they might not be able to charge Kurt with anything, but they could restrict his international travel. "Then what do we do?" Blaine asked.  
  
They were all silent for a long moment. Blaine crossed his arms around his chest feeling small and useless. "This is my fault," Blaine eventually said. "I'm the one that ran, I'm the fugitive. Kurt should be fine."  
  
"Stop," Kurt said, turning in his seat to face him fully. "I didn't have to leave New York to look for you, but I did because I wanted to, that was my choice and I don't regret it. We just have to… figure something out from here. We still have all of our papers with our new names, we can make this work."  
  
Blaine gave him a side-long look and then let out a breath of air, his shoulders relaxing and his arms unwinding. "Right. We need a plan."  
  
"It seems to me that I'm the only one who can really travel freely," Cooper said. "I could get into Canada."  
  
Kurt furrowed his brows. "Okay…"  
  
"So I say let's just go to Canada. It's what? A 30 minute drive to the border?"  
  
"And what do we do?" Kurt asked. "Hide in the trunk?"  
  
Blaine smirked at the suggestion until he saw Cooper's face. He was smiling widely.  
  
"Cooper, don't be insane," Blaine said.  
  
"You know I actually have a really big following in Canada? They love me there," Cooper replied. "What if I was on a publicity trip with a bunch of boxes of my headshots to sign for people in the trunk?"  
  
"I… don't even…" Blaine started, not following what Cooper was saying.  
  
"Listen, you two have tried your way, now let's try mine." Cooper seemed excited again, like he thought the plan was brilliant.  
  
Blaine glanced at Kurt and then they both agreed, what else was left to do?  
  
Cooper tried to keep everything light and like it was a big joke, but Blaine could tell he was nervous. And frankly, his plan was a little ridiculous, but they were out of options. The longer they waited, the more likely the Registry would find them.  
  
The first thing Cooper did was stop by a local print shop and get a bunch of copies of one of his headshots that he “happened” to have on him. They also stopped to get a plywood board from a hardware store, and then they set to work making the trunk of Cooper's SUV look like it had boxes of headshots in it when really it was just a kind of lid that Kurt and Blaine were going to hide under.  
  
"You should call and make a hotel reservation for someplace in Canada, in case they ask you where you're staying," Kurt said, and Cooper got on the phone to a nice hotel in Nova Scotia he'd stayed at before.  
  
"This really is such a bad idea. Things like this only work on TV," Blaine said.  
  
"Hey!” Cooper said, phone still at his ear, “I've been through the border crossing before and usually they just ask you a few questions and don't even look in your car. We're going to be fine."  
  
Kurt reached over to Blaine, pulling his hand up and pressing it against his heart. Blaine could feel it beating against his palm; he looked up at Kurt's clear blue eyes as he smiled. "Blaine. I know it's a risk, but I'm willing to take it if you are. It means we get to be together, and honestly we reached the point of no return a long time ago."  
  
Blaine felt a little calmer at Kurt's reassurance and then pressed a soft kiss to Kurt's lips. "I think I passed the point of no return when I met you," he said softly.  
  
Kurt smiled brightly but Cooper just groaned. "Oh god, it's only been a little over a month but I forgot how sappy you two are together. Now are we doing this or not?"  
  
Blaine nodded, and he and Kurt climbed into the truck, their carry on suitcases in the backseat looking like Cooper's things. Cooper looked down at them and then winked before he fit the plyboard on top closing them in like a secret compartment. They could still breathe through thin slots at the sides. This was it then. They were going through with this crazy plan.

* * *

Kurt crawled into the trunk of Cooper's SUV with Blaine. It was a tight fit, but they made it in, Blaine behind him and curling his arms around his middle like they were spooning in bed. If this didn't work, at least they would be caught together. Kurt shook that thought out of his head; it wasn’t actually very comforting. Instead, Kurt tried to focus on positive thoughts and settled into the feeling of having Blaine wrapped around him.

  
Cooper started the car and then they were moving. Kurt didn't even realize he was counting until Blaine mentioned it.  
  
"What are you counting?" He whispered into Kurt's skin, making him shiver in the dark, warm trunk of Cooper's car.  
  
"Every time we hit a bump. I have a nervous habit, counting things."  
  
"I know," Blaine replied, kissing his neck. Just that little kiss, and the knowledge that Blaine knew his little idiosyncrasies and didn't tell him he should stop, was enough to reinforce that they were doing the right thing.  
  
They didn't speak again, feeling more and more tense as they neared the border. They could tell that they were going through the Detroit Windsor Tunnel connecting the US to Canada because the sound in the car changed. Then, things slowed down. It was awful not being able to see what was going on. Were they at the border crossing yet?  
  
Eventually, after some stopping and starting, the vehicle came to a complete stop. They heard the window roll down and then Cooper was talking to someone. Blaine held Kurt a little more tightly.  
  
"Good afternoon!" They heard Cooper's cheerful voice ring out.  
  
The border crossing guard didn't seem to have the same enthusiasm. He asked a few questions, which Cooper gave short direct answers to. He was here for business and would only be staying a couple weeks, he was booked at the Waterfront Hotel in Winsor, and yes he had that number if they wanted to call.  
  
Kurt wasn't sure if they called the hotel or not, but they heard the back doors to the SUV open and it seemed like someone was going through Cooper's bags. Hopefully, they would just see a lot of guy's clothing and some knick-knacks and not think much of it. Kurt couldn't think of anything incriminating in those bags. He knew his snow globe was in there and a picture of his family. Oh god, that might be hard to explain.  
  
He was pulled away from that thought, though, when a voice very close to them called out. "Hey, pop the trunk for us will you?"  
  
"Of course," Cooper said, and then there was a little more light in the little space they were crammed in as the border crossing guard lifted the trunk open. Kurt was so still he was barely breathing, Blaine rigid and quiet behind him.  
  
There was some shuffling and then, "What's with all the pictures?" The guard asked.  
  
"Oh, headshots. In case people want autographs."  
  
There was silence for a minute before the guard spoke again. "You famous or something?"  
  
In any other circumstance, Kurt would have laughed and wanted to see Cooper's facial expression over someone not recognizing him.  
  
"Yeah. I act. I'm an actor," Cooper said, and then he asked them if they'd seen the blockbuster he'd been in.  
  
"I knew you looked familiar!" The guy said, and shut the trunk without even really looking back there.  
  
Still, Kurt didn't move until Blaine started nudging him with his head, and then Kurt realized his chest hurt and that he had actually stopped breathing; he let out a quiet breath and felt Blaine sigh in relief behind him.  
  
Then the car doors closed and the voices moved further away from the back of the vehicle while Cooper started the engine again.  
  
"Is that all you need?" He asked.  
  
"Yes. Have a nice day," The guard said, and then they were moving again.  
  
Kurt had to suppress a sob of relief; did they actually just make it through?  
  
Cooper kept driving for a little while longer and Kurt held tightly onto Blaine's hands that were wrapped around his middle. When they finally stopped and Cooper lifted off their little partition, Kurt blinked as the sun hit his eyes and found he couldn't move. Blaine sat up with a groan, stretching his arms.  
  
"Holy shit," Cooper said, and helped Blaine out of the car. "Holy shit. Holy shit! We did it."  
  
Blaine looked down at Kurt and reached out a hand. "Come on, Kurt," he said with a smile, his eyes sparkling and Kurt finally made himself move, grabbing Blaine's hand and climbing out of the SUV.  
  
The day was turning out to be bright and warm and beautiful, but of course, Kurt admitted he might be feeling that way because they made it. Not all the way to France, but they were out of the states!  
  
They stood still for a moment and then Blaine surprised him by practically tackling him with a hug. "Oh my god I thought for sure they were going to find us! Oh my god." He laughed.  
  
Kurt hugged him back, still in shock a little, before he started laughing as well and pressing a long kiss to Blaine's lips. He sighed as they parted. "We're in Canada! And now on to France?"  
  
Blaine grinned and nodded before looking at Cooper who was watching them with a pleased look on his face; he wiped his eyes a little.  
  
"Are you crying Coop?" Blaine asked.  
  
"Shut up," he said and then wrapped them both up in a big hug.  
  
Cooper pulled up flight schedules on his phone and started looking for a way to get them out of Canada. They still couldn't be caught in this country. It didn't take long for them to get everything in order to fly out of Windsor International Airport.  
  
Cooper brought them to the airport, parking and then walking them in. "Okay… once you get on the plane, text me, alright? I'm going to wait here until I know you've made it through."  
  
Kurt nodded and hugged him. “Thank you for everything, Cooper. You’ve been so good to me.”  
  
Cooper smiled and looked teary-eyed again.  
  
Then, Blaine approached his brother and squeezed him tight. "Goodbye, Coop. I love you," he said into his neck, sounding a little teary.  
  
"Goodbye, Blaine," he said. "Go. Be happy? Okay?"  
  
Blaine backed up and nodded, laughing a little through his tears. "You too," he said, and Kurt took his hand as they walked away, Cooper watching them as they went.  
  
They had lost their check-in luggage in Detroit so they just went through with their carry-ons. They stayed together this time, because either they got through or they didn't.  
  
Security looked at Blaine's fake ID and then Kurt's and didn't say a word as they walked through. Kurt tried not to show on his face the absolute relief he was feeling. They made the gate just in time to get on the plane. Once on board, Blaine texted Cooper before shutting off his phone.  
  
They looked at each other and held each other's hands. 15 minutes later, the plane took off – they were leaving North America behind and heading towards their new lives,  _together_.


	34. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is the end of this fic and I wanted to thank you all so much for reading. And thank Olanna again for being so cool and beta-ing for me. I am working on something new and hope to have something to show you soon. 
> 
> Much love!

Burt got out of the car and was met with the flashing of cameras and microphones held to his face as reporters all shouted questions at the same time. Burt readjusted his too-tight tie and pressed through the crowd, trying to reach the building where he worked. He ignored their questions. He’d answer questions once they all found out how things had gone with the bill.  
  
"Congressman Hummel, is it true that the reason you support the so called, ‘True Love Bill’ is in the hopes of getting your son back?"  
  
Burt stopped and looked at the woman asking the question. He wasn't planning to talk to the media right now, but this was a question he felt like addressing. Even if it was a subject he’d spoken on before  
  
"I won't deny that my son Kurt was one of the motivations for helping with this bill. But it is more than wanting him to be able to come home one day. This is for everyone who’s paired with a Lifemate that is wrong for them or dangerous for them or just not someone they can love. Kurt may have been my inspiration, but I truly believe the lives of people all over the country will be made better through this."  
  
He started walking again even as the reporters kept asking questions. He finally got inside the state capitol, where they weren't allowed to follow, and went up to his office.  
  
"Good morning, Congressman," his aide greeted, as he settled in behind his desk, glancing at a picture of Kurt and Blaine laughing together on the sofa in his living room. It was taken the Christmas they had all spent together.  
  
“How do you feel, sir?"  
  
Burt looked up from the picture and smiled. "Today is the day and I feel good about it."

+++

"How do I look?" Cooper asked, standing in front of his personal assistant. Hannah brushed her hands over his shoulders and stood back. "You look good, very... authoritative."  
  
Cooper smiled. "Perfect."  
  
"I don't understand why you are having the press conference though,” she said. “Congress is already in session, they'll be voting now, you aren't going to influence them any more than you already have these past several months."  
  
"Today isn't about congress, it’s about everyone else. I believe the bill will pass… but if it doesn't, I want people to know about it and to be upset. No, if it doesn’t pass, people need to be outraged. I’m not a lawmaker, but people care about what I think.” He practiced his smile in the mirror. “Either we win this today or we bring it back up again until things change." He took a deep breath; he did look good, and authoritative.  
  
“You’re a good brother,” Hannah said with a smile.  
  
Cooper smirked and winked at her. “I know.” He rubbed his hands together. “Okay, let's do this!"  
  
Cooper walked to the pressroom of his talent agency and was met by applause. The timing was perfect, his latest movie had just hit theaters and was doing great, everyone wanted to hear from him, and what better topic than bringing down a regimented Lifemate system that just didn't work anymore with a bill to amend the power of the Lifemate Registry?  
  
He stood in front of everyone and greeted them, "Today is going to be a great day for true love," he said with an award winning smile.

++++  
Blaine woke up and rolled over, wanting to wrap his arms around his husband, but instead, he was met with an empty bed.  
  
"Kurt?" He called groggily as he sat up and looked around. He didn’t have to wonder where Kurt had gone for long when he smelled coffee coming from downstairs. He wasn’t surprised Kurt was up already, he probably wanted to check first thing what had happened with the bill that was voted on in congress yesterday. With the time difference, this was the earliest they would find anything out.  
  
Blaine pulled on the slippers he kept by the bed and went down to the kitchen. Kurt was wearing pajama pants and a snugly fitting tank-top; his hair quickly and messily arranged, one strand falling over his forehead. He looked beautiful.  
  
Blaine walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist and buried his face in Kurt's neck humming against his skin.  
  
"Good morning," Kurt said with a smile in his voice.  
  
"Smells good," Blaine replied.  
  
"The coffee?" Kurt asked.  
  
"You smell good," Blaine said and kissed his neck. Kurt turned in his arms and clasped his hands around Blaine's neck before kissing him sweetly. "But you do want some coffee, right?"  
  
"Obviously."  
  
Kurt grinned and then poured him a cup. "I was hoping you'd make breakfast. Pancakes maybe? Your pancakes are so good."  
  
Blaine took a sip of coffee and nodded, wondering if Kurt knew anything yet. "Of course I will," Blaine answered and started gathering the ingredients.    
  
Kurt leaned up against the counter as Blaine starting putting everything together. "You remember what happened last night while we were asleep, right?"  
  
Blaine cracked an egg into his mixing bowl and started to whisk the batter. "Of course I do." He looked up at Kurt, “Have you looked up the results yet?"  
  
Kurt shook his head. "No, I thought we could eat and then do it together."  
  
Blaine nodded and set the bowl down, walking to Kurt and putting his hands on his shoulders. "Are you nervous?"  
  
Kurt was quiet for a minute before he spoke, tilting his head a little. "Actually, I'm not. I mean, I am, but not as much as I thought I would be. Mostly I want the bill to pass for those still stuck with Lifemates they shouldn’t be with and for those who may need it in the future, but as far as we go..." Kurt smiled and shrugged. "We're doing pretty good."  
  
Blaine's heart picked up speed behind his ribcage. They were doing more than good. They were safe, and happy, and together. And maybe they weren't in New York or on Broadway, and it was hard to be so far from their families, but life was still sweet, almost idyllic really.  
  
When they had gotten off of the plane in Paris over a year ago, they were still both tense and scared from almost not making it out of the States, plus they had to go through customs in France and didn't know if their passports would be rejected, or what would happen to them. But they made it through easily. An hour later, they were standing on the streets of Paris hand in hand as Alex and Michael Armstrong-Bowers.  
  
Blaine had been so relieved he was giddy; laughing so hard he started crying. After thinking that they would never have a real future together, here they were standing together as _Lifemates_. Blaine only calmed down when he noticed the total silence and stillness from Kurt who was looking around as if he was in shock.  
  
“Kurt? Baby?” Blaine said and lifted his hands to softly cup Kurt’s neck; when Kurt’s eyes met his, he leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips. It took a second, but then Kurt was moving, slamming their bodies together and clinging desperately to the back of Blaine’s shirt. They stood and kissed in front of anyone who cared to look. Free to belong to each other.  
  
From there, they’d gotten a hotel room and stayed in Paris a few days, using it as a well-needed vacation and to give them time to decide what to do from there. They found a cashier’s check that Cooper must have slipped into Blaine’s bag at some point; it was more than enough to really start a life together.  
  
Eventually, they chose not to stay in Paris but ended up renting a lovely two story white-stone house in a town outside of Paris named Villennes, a lush green garden city near the Seine River where they were only an hour away from the attractions of Paris. Since performing seemed out of the question for two Canadians without stage experience, and who were new to France and probably shouldn’t be recognized on a large scale, they both found new occupations.  
  
Blaine was teaching English in a couple of local schools while Kurt started working for a tailor. They both knew they’d want to move to the city eventually if they were in France long enough, and maybe there Kurt could get a job at a design house, he was talented enough. Or maybe if enough time passed, he’d pursue the stage again. Blaine surprised Kurt one day saying he might like to own a bookstore. For now though they were content with their happy quiet lives in Villennes.  
  
They had been able to keep in touch with their families a little too. Burt ran for Congress like he said he would. It was Burt and some like-minded politicians who had resurrected the Lifemate bill that had been shot down months before. This time, with Cooper's star status to help, they got publicity for the bill nicknamed, “The True Love Bill” and it had gained an overwhelming amount of public support. It seemed people weren’t as happy with the Lifemate Registry as they tried to act.  
  
If the bill passed, it would allow Lifemates whose pairing didn’t work, or who weren't good for each other, to be unpaired. It also set up stricter rules for making sure people were paired according to their sexual preference. There was even a way, with the government’s strict approval, for two people who just fell in love naturally to request each other as Lifemates. It wasn't the total dismantling of the Lifemate system that some wanted, but still it was huge.  
  
After everything was cleared up from breakfast, Kurt was finally ready to check and see what had happened with the bill back home. He pulled up a webpage and scrolled through until he found what he wanted. Blaine stood behind Kurt with his hand on his shoulder as Kurt's eyes scanned the page.  
  
"Oh my god," Kurt said, covering his mouth, and Blaine whooped when he saw the verdict.  
  
"It passed!" Kurt jumped up and started bouncing up and down. "Blaine, it passed!"    
  
They celebrated by laughing and hugging and then falling down on the couch together. They both knew this didn’t mean they could go home right away, they had still broken several laws, but the bill passing was a massive step in the right direction if they ever did want to move back.  
  
Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine. "We were part of that you know. Even stuck here in France, we are a part of history."  
  
Blaine kissed him and smiled. "If we are ever able to go back home, do you think you want to?"  
  
Kurt shrugged. "I… yes I think I would. You know I love our life here and could probably be happy in France with you for the rest of my life, but our families have done so much for us and they’d love to have us back home. What do you think?”  
  
“Mmm,” Blaine nodded kissing Kurt’s cheek, “Anywhere with you is home.”   
  
Kurt chuckled and curled up closer to him, “Now that the bill has passed, my dad and Carol and Cooper can visit, so we'll get to see our families again. And Rachel is planning on coming for a visit when she is done wrapping this season of her show. I want to go back to New York someday, but I’m in no hurry.”  
  
Blaine smiled and sighed in contentment. He understood. As much as his heart loved New York, and he did miss Cooper, he had the most important thing, “As long as we have each other.”   
  
Kurt laughed. "God we're cheesy."  
  
Blaine smiled. "I think we should get even cheesier to annoy Cooper when he comes to visit."  
  
Kurt nodded seriously. "And we should start making-out at random times to gross him out."  
  
“We already make-out at random times,” Blaine said. “Remember when Monsieur Métivier from across the street walked up to us in the front yard and then just turned right back around?”  
  
Kurt rolled his eyes and flushed at the memory. “We should still make sure to do it a lot when Cooper is here.”  
  
"Mmmm, we should practice that," Blaine said and leaned in for a kiss. Kurt settled down on the couch, holding onto Blaine’s waist as Blaine hovered over him. Blaine’s hands went to Kurt’s hair as their lips moved together.  
  
“I love you so much,” Kurt said softly, his breath brushing against Blaine’s skin.  
  
Blaine kissed him deeper before whispering against his lips. “I love you too.”


End file.
